A Con Called Caterwaul
by CatGirlFireflare
Summary: All Decepticons are evil, right? WRONG! Meet Caterwaul and try not to insult her, or you might find that your arm or leg is suddenly missing one day! she's exciting, funny, and sometimes crazy, but I know you'll love her anyway! I hope you enjoy reading!
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I'm InsaneWarriorCatGirl, and this is my first story. You may have read my sister's stories, which I think are pretty good. She goes by the name of FireFlare. So, anyway, I hope you enjoy the story!

A small, slender she-bot slowly emerged from a dense forest. She had piercing golden eyes, a long, bladed tail, and was such a dark silvery purple that she looked almost jet-black. The trees she'd been hiding in were close to a large, strange-looking place that humans called a "zoo." _Here_ was where she decided that she would find her earth-form. But how would she get inside? In the darkening evening, the place looked deserted. The human-beings had all left hours ago, so nobody was around except for the incredibly interesting furry, scaly, and feathery earth-creatures inside. Unable to wait any longer, the elegant purple robot slipped through the trees near the zoo's entrance. It was easy for her to simply jump over the silly little turnstiles that attempted to block the entrance. Looking around, the she-bot noticed what looked like a huge map, the kind that the human-beings would use. It was covered in glass and stood up straight on a wooden platform. Although it was very dark outside, the she-bot could see everything easily. She walked over to it and saw that it had pictures of animals on it, as well as some form of writing on it. The humans' written language was incomprehensible to her, so she examined the animal pictures. Her golden eyes glowed with delight as she chose her target. "Perfect!" she said to herself, and raced toward the earth-creature's enclosure. It was a relatively small habitat, since it contained only two animals. The purple-armored robot's optics lit up when she spotted one of the creatures curled up near a hollow log. "C'mere!" the she-bot called, "here, furry creature!" The animal twitched, then raised it's head and looked at her. Again, the robot called, "Here, furry! C'mere!" The creature cocked its sleek head and walked gracefully toward her, swishing its long tail slowly. The animal stopped when it was a foot away from the fence, where its spot-dappled coat shone in the moonlight. "Yes! Good furry," the she-bot cheered quietly. She scanned it quickly, watching its bright eyes light up beautifully. It seemed faintly nervous now, sheathing and unsheathing its pointed claws. The creature bared its large teeth as it's unusual visitor transformed. Startled and confused, the animal leapt onto the lowest branch of a large tree in its enclosure. The animal's long, color-dappled fur bristled as it saw the robot complete her transformation. There was now an extra clouded-leopard in the zoo.

**Hope you liked it! Please review, and be nice! More chapters to come if I get good reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am sssoooooo very very VERY sorry for taking such a long time to post another chapter. Please forgive me, Fanfiction-People! School keeps getting in the way and whenever I get a chance to type, I'm too tired! Again, please forgive! FORGIVE, I beg thee! Anyway, I'll try to type chapters more often. On with the story!**

The she-bot's metal body was now hidden by beautiful, long, glossy fur. Her dangerous tail blades were now concealed by her luxuriously fluffy tail. And the purple symbol on her chest was now unseen, and a faint, gray-ish black version of the insignia was formed on the robotic leopard's head.

_Best of all, _she thought, _I have these new, powerful, teeth and sharpened claws._ Most transformers had to contort themselves by twisting, spinning, and rotating various parts of their bodies to change form. She, however, simply adjusted her joints, pulled in her extra blades, dropped to all fours, and spun her outer armor to look exactly like a clouded leopard. Except, she was far stranger than one: her cybertronian metal-based inner structure and now furry armor were much stronger than bones or skin. Perhaps tomorrow she would practice fighting in her new form, once she had recharged. Leaving the zoo, which looked like an animal prison, she once more hid in the woods.

It seemed she had barely begun to recharge when a large, pointy hand grabbed her by her newly acquired scruff. Her golden optics snapped open and she bared her pointed fangs at whoever dared to disturb her. In the darkened night, she could just barely recognize her captor.

"Let me go, you moron!" The she-bot screeched, but Starscream just laughed and said that he'd rather squish her. This infuriated her, and since she already hated the big jerk (for killing Cliffjumper), she saw no reason why she should go easy on him. Letting loose an enraged shriek she bit into his hand and gouged deep gashes into it with her talon-like claws. All the while, beating his entire arm with her tail blades, she shouted hatred and threats at him in several languages.

Starscream managed to catch the Spanish words, "Yo quiero matar tu con mucho energon-sangre y suffremiendo!" as well as the Japanese terms of "baka" and "kaigu." He also heard multiple English forms of the words "death" and "filth." The she-bot had retracted her fur and looked like a crazed robot-cat, bent on ripping him into bloody pieces of scrap metal. He finally dropped her to the ground when she snarled, "Do you not recognize your fellow Decepticon by the name of CATERWAUL?"

**"Yo quiero matar tu con mucho energon-sangre y suffremiendo!" means "I want to kill you with much energon-blood and suffering!" "Baka" means "idiot" and "kaigu" means "monster." Little bit o' education fer ya, peoples! I hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**OK. I noticed a couple people's reviews were… constructively criticizing. To answer a couple questions, Caterwaul _is_ a Decepticon, but she's one of the good guys. Girls. Whatever! Anyway, she's on earth to infiltrate the Decepticon team so the Autobots can win. She's _not_ an Autobot pretending to be a con, she's _not_ an ex-con, she _is_ a con. She knows different earth languages because she enjoys insulting her enemies without them knowing what she's saying. She knows about Cliffjumper because she is a spy and spies usually know a lot of stuff about who they're spying on. Caterwaul is slightly larger than an adult human. She has an animal-mode 'cause I love animals and decided she should be able to turn into one. Starscream knew where she was by following her scanning energy's signal. And as for all comments about how it's "illogical"… Yeah, I suppose it's completely logical to have transforming alien robots invading our planet and fighting epic battles while nobody notices. _ANYWAY…_ I don't intend Caterwaul to be a Mary Sue. She's funny and dangerous, yes, but also slightly insane and freakish. Now, read on, readers!**

When Starscream dropped Caterwaul, he expected her to take the chance to escape. Instead, she sprang back up, clung to one of his wings with her razor-sharp claws, and bit it! At that point, Starscream lived up to his name, for surely even the stars heard his shriek of surprise (a rather girly scream, really). Caterwaul sunk her fangs deep into the wing, painfully ripped of a chunk of the metal, and… swallowed it!

"Ugh!" her captor/victim yelped, "Get off me!"

"NEVER!" Caterwaul cackled evilly, and bit into his other wing. As if it were thin as a leaf, the metal tore off in her mouth and was ingested. While the larger, screaming Decepticon tried to beat off the little menace, he felt more wing pieces come ripping off, leaving gaping holes. After a few seconds, The wings resembled ragged stubs that were useless for flying. Caterwaul then jumped down and landed daintily on the ground with a huge smirk on her robotic feline face.

"What is wrong with you?" Starscream yelled, "Now I can't fly! Are you some kind of freakish cannibal?"

Caterwaul snickered, "No, cannibals _enjoy_ how their prey tastes. I, however, think you taste absolutely disgusting."

"Then why'd you EAT my WINGS?" the ruined jet screamed at her. The small robotic feline grinned as the ingested metal was absorbed into her skeletal structure, temporarily fusing with her body, causing her to grow larger. She hadn't eaten enough to grow extremely large, but she grew several inches. It was enough to be noticeable, though, and really freaked out the injured jet-transformer. Of course, Caterwaul just laughed at his horrified and disgusted expression.

She then decided to disturb and shock him even further. Concentrating very hard, Caterwaul _un-fused_ the metal of Starscream's wings, separating it from herself, and causing her to shrink slightly. Then she disposed of the now unnecessary metal by retching (barfing), so that it left the way it had come in. What came out now was a partially melted-looking glob of metal.

Caterwaul looked up at the sickened Decepticon and asked, "Did you want these pieces of your wings back now?" Again, she laughed at his shocked and mortified expression. Then she got bored and simply walked away. The larger con was too scared to follow her. Resuming her clouded leopard form, Caterwaul lay at the base of a large tree, she thought about how very strange and crazy she was. It had been a good night.

**I know her power's gross but I find it quite amusing. Ha. ha. ha. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, peoples! I've changed to being 'CrazyCatGirl' now, and I just realized that I haven't done any disclaimer. So, here it is. I don't own Transformers Prime. I only own Caterwaul and her bizarre insanity. This chapter has some song lyrics in it. I don't own them or the songs or anything. Enjoy!**

The next morning, around 11:00AM, Caterwaul was fully recharged and had tons of energy. Because of this, as well as her personality quirk of looniness, she became hyper. Using her clouded leopard form's claws, she raced up trees, where she hung upside down by her tail, trying to catch falling leaves in her mouth.

After about an hour of this, as well as chasing and laughing at squirrels, she was bored.

So Caterwaul transformed back into robot mode and sat near a human building that played radio music. 1 of these songs had the lyrics that seemed to apply to her encounter with Starscream. The song was apparently called, 'Bones Shatter,' and she was particularly pleased when she heard, "If it doesn't kill you it's sure to leave a horrible scar." So she recorded that part, wanting to listen to it later. Another song was, 'Behind these Hazel Eyes,' with the words, "torn into pieces."

This was how she liked to imagine certain stupid jet-transformers. She grinned and recorded those bits of the song as well. Eventually, she had a small collection of recorded lyrics and words that could easily become an arsenal of scariness to whoever she directed it at. She planned to direct these song bits at _**he-who-dared-to-bother-her-earlier.**_

Soon, she organized her song-bits in her head to be easily replayed out loud in any order she wanted. Caterwaul remembered hearing that one of the Autobots, Bumblebee, used a method vaguely similar to this to speak. She had all the song-bits she wanted, and now she was bored again. So Caterwaul decided to explore the forest's neighboring town.

Her clouded leopard form gave her a surprisingly good sense of smell, something most transformers didn't have. Nearby, she was able to smell a large number of human-things. Creeping stealthilly forward, Caterwaul located them at a strange, depressing-looking building. The humans, upon further inspection, appeared to be all younger ones, and were carrying large bags on their backs. They seemed to be exiting the building, very gladly, saying something about _"half-days."_

Caterwaul cocked her head, wondering how much fun it would be to race in, and cause some minor explosions. _Nah…_ She thought. _Maybe later._

Then, pulled from her explosive daydreams, Catewaul noticed something: while most of the humans climbed into big yellow vehicles, one was walking toward Caterwaul's hiding place!

**Sorry the chapter wasn't very exciting. Anyway, I'll bet you can guess what the "strange, depressing-looking building" was! School! It's like a job, except much worse, and you don't get paid. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi. I know it's been a while since I updated. Sorry about that. Anyway, here's chapter 5!**

Transforming to robot mode would have been a hilarious way to scare the human female away, Caterwaul thought. She was just about to, when she caught a faint scent coming from the girl. It was the scent of Transformers; specifically, Autobots!

"Hmm," Caterwaul thought, "Maybe this human can lead me to them. I need to get started on my mission as soon as possible." Caterwaul had heard that humans really liked felines, especially small ones. So, she retched up more metal and hid it behind some bushes, for possible use later. Then she stepped out to where the human girl could see her, all furry and cute.

"Woah!" it said, "You sure are a big cat." (Yes, the smallest that Caterwaul can make herself is about the size of a very large domestic cat. And even _that's_ pushing it.) Caterwaul rubbed her head against the human's leg, hoping to get it to like her. The furry decepticon was rewarded with petting.

"You're a pretty neat-looking cat!" said the girl, "You wanna stick around until Bulkhead comes to pick me up? It gets really boring when I have to wait a long time if he's busy." Caterwaul's ears perked up at the mention of the name. So this girl really _did_ know the Autobots! The feline purred loudly, much to the human's delight.

"That's great to hear," she laughed, "So, cat, my name's Miko. What should I call you?" Caterwaul meowed loudly in response, since that's what her name meant: to yowl, wail, or howl like a cat. Miko thought about it for a second.

"OK, then. How 'bout Yowler?" Caterwaul shrugged: close enough. Miko smiled, then noticed something about her new friend. The cat had a faint marking on her head fur, a blurry marking that resembled the decepticon symbol.

"That's weird," she said "That marking almost looks like…" she trailed off as Caterwaul meowed adorably and rolled onto her back, playing with some leaves. This helped her avoid suspicion, because nobody would imagine an evil robot being so cute, would they?

"Ah, who am I kidding?" Miko laughed, "A decepticon wouldn't be so nice and cute. Besides, they're all as tall as my school, not cat-sized." Caterwaul purred in relief. Just then, a huge green vehicle rolled up to the sidewalk where Miko and Caterwaul were sitting near the trees. Caterwaul recognized the scent just as Miko exclaimed, "Hey, Bulkhead!"

"Hi, Miko," came the reply, and Caterwaul's fur fluffed up nervously at how powerful the voice sounded.

"Mind if I bring along a guest?" Miko asked, "It's a cat, and she's reeeaalllyyy friendly!" After much begging from Miko, and much purring and adorableness from Caterwaul, Bulkhead finally agreed.

"Oof, you're really heavy, Yowler," Miko huffed as she tried to heave the large cat onto the passenger seat. Caterwaul eventually just climbed in on her own, purring innocently. If they found out what she was now, her mission could be ruined!

**Yeah, not the most exciting _or_ funny. At least it's something. I'll try to update again soon. Please review and I may update sooner!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, peoples! I'm back! (Sorry again for so few chapters.) I try to get the characters' personalities right, but its not always so easy. Anyway, here you go! **

'So _this_ is where the Autobot base is,' Caterwaul thought to herself, 'Brilliant hiding place!' The enormous green vehicle that she and Miko were riding in seemed glad to be there. Of course, it was hard to tell, since the Autobot was in vehicle mode, and his face wasn't visible.

'At least that long, bumpy ride is over,' Caterwaul thought as she hopped out onto the ground. Miko climbed out and thanked Bulkhead again for letting 'Yowler' come with them. Caterwaul let out a surprised yelp as the huge truck transformed, revealing himself to be even bigger than she'd thought.

"Hey, Miko!" called another human, and Caterwaul wondered why the Autobots allowed them in their base.

"Hi, Jack!" Miko called back, adding, "Where's Raf?"

"He's with Bumblebee, playing a racing video game," came the reply. The boy walked over and asked, "Why'd you bring a huge _cat_ here? It's not your pet, is it?"

Miko shook her head as she petted Caterwaul, "Nope, but she's really friendly."

'Only to some,' the feline thought, 'Besides, I really ought to be working on my mission.' She looked around, trying to figure out where she should go. She turned to Miko and meowed.

"What is it?" the girl asked, "You wanna meet the others?" Caterwaul purred.

"Well," the teen replied, "There's nothing wrong with going to say 'hi.' C'mon, Yowler, I'll introduce you to 'em!" Caterwaul made happy purring noises as she followed the human towards a tall, blue Autobot.

"Arcee, what's up?" Miko asked, and was informed that Raf had just finished playing the video game with Bumblebee.

"Woah!" the boy said as he walked over, "Your cat is huge! What breed is it?"

Miko replied, "She's not mine, so I dunno what kind she is. But she's really sweet. You can pet her if you like." Raf smiled as he stroked Caterwaul's pelt. Then he stopped for a second, looking puzzled.

"That's weird," he said as he pulled out a red, U-shaped piece of metal from his pocket, "I got this magnet from science class, and it's moving toward her!" It was true: the thing _was_ shifting towards the feline. The boy asked, "Does she have a prosthetic metal limb or something?" Caterwaul sighed; they were bound to figure out what she was eventually.

"No," she said out loud, and the kids all gasped in shock. The Autobots all turned to stare as Caterwaul retracted her fur, unsheathed her tri-bladed tail, shifted her armor, and stood up, revealing her purple decepticon insignia.

**Ooooh! A decepticon in the Autobot base! What shall come of this? Review, and I shall post more chapters as soon as I can!**


	7. Chapter 7

**YAHOO! WINTER BREAK! Here's a new chapter to celebrate freedom from that depressing place-of-torture called school. Enjoy! **

"Woah!" Miko jumped back from Caterwaul, while Jack, Raf, and the Autobots stared in shock.

"Hi," Caterwaul stated calmly, which broke the awkward silence. An explosion.

"You brought a decepticon into the base?" Jack shouted at Miko, who threw her hands in the air, yelling, "How was _I_ supposed to know? It looked like just a big cat!"

Caterwaul rolled her eyes, scoffing, "Wow, '_it._' That hurt sooo much." Bumblebee took out his blaster and aimed it at the robotic feline, and making furious buzzing noises. The feline in question growled and lashed her blade-spiked tail, narrowly missing Bumblebee's arm.

"Will you _quit_ that?" she snarled, "I'm not here to fight, OK? Why don't I transform, since you're all so obviously terrified of purple 'con symbols?" Just then, Optimus Prime walked into the room. Caterwaul let out a startled yelp, and turned back into a clouded leopard almost immediately.

"Why is there a decepticon here?" the Autobot leader asked, and Caterwaul crouched low to the ground.

Ratchet added, "And who exactly _is_ this puny decepticon specimen, anyway?" Caterwaul made a faint hissing noise and pressed herself harder onto the floor, looking up at Optimus again.

"Well?" he asked patiently, "Explain why you are here." Caterwaul slowly stood up, which caused Arcee and Bulkhead to automatically point their weapons at her.

"I have not come to fight you," the robotic cat said respectfully, and Jack rolled his eyes at her. This earned him a growl from Caterwaul as she transformed. She quietly showed Optimus her Decepticon form.

"My name is Caterwaul," she told Prime, "I think you might have heard of me."

"Hmm… yes," he replied, "So _you_ are the decepticon that we have been told about." Caterwaul nodded.

"What do you mean?" Raf asked, "Who's this supposed to be?" Jack glared at the quiet, feline-like decepticon.

He said, "It's probably some kind of evil spy or something, here to blow up the base! Right, Arcee?" The blue Autobot's eyes narrowed, and she replied, "In most cases I'd be one of the first to agree with you. But the Autobots have heard a lot about this particular decepticon…" Optimus motioned for Caterwaul to continue speaking.

She told them, "Yes, I am a decepticon, but I'm on your side. I'm one of you."

**OK, that last statement would've been a surprise if you hadn't read the summary. But, apparently, you have read the summary! Therefore, it is not a surprise. Phooey. Ah, well. My fault for explaining it in the first place. Shame! Shame upon I, the authoress! …OK, I'm fine now. BYYYEEEE! *FireFlare comes into the room* FIREFLARE: WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH YOU? CRAZYCATGIRL: Everything. I'm insane, in case you hadn't noticed. FIREFLARE: yes I know. I read your penname. Just stop being so loud! you know I hate it when you don't invite me too! CRAZYCATGIRL: OK, I shall have a party of insanity and invite you, my less-crazy-than-me sister. FIREFLARE: That hurts...I'm just as crazy as YOU! XP CRAZYCATGIRL: Ok, ok...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hellooooo! I'm back! Here's another chapter for ya'! (I think that winter vacation should be a lot longer.)**

Miko's eyes widened in surprise as she asked, "Is- is that even possible? If you're one of the good guys, then why'd you have to trick me into bringin' you here, huh?"

Caterwaul looked at the girl quietly, and told her, "You know you never would have believed I was friendly if I told you I was a decepticon, Miko."

Miko blinked and muttered, "Well… It's kinda hard to imagine a 'con who _isn't_ evil and who _doesn't_ wanna ruin our planet!" Caterwaul looked at her unhappily. At nearly eye –level (since Caterwaul was temporarily a little smaller than her), Miko's unhappiness was painfully evident. The girl's mistrust and anger at her was blatantly obvious. Caterwaul was used to not being trusted, but it still hurt.

Caterwaul hung her head and whispered, "I just needed a way to get here, Miko. I'm sorry." Then she looked over at Optimus and told him, "Anyway, that's why I came here; to inform you and your team of my presence." Then she walked toward the exit on all fours, looking like a large, robotic cat.

"Hey, where are you going?" Raf asked. Caterwaul looked over her shoulder at the humans and Autobots, then replied, "I'm going to the decepticons."

"WHAT!" Jack and Miko yelled, and Raf gasped, "I thought you just said you were on our side!"

Caterwaul flicked her bladed tail and replied, "I am. But I can't spy on the decepticons from here."

"Ugh, this doesn't make any sense!" Miko said in a frustrated voice, "Are you with us as their spy or ours? Are you a decepticon or Autobot? If you're one of the good guys, then you're an Autobot, or if you're bad then you're a decepticon."

Caterwaul told the irritated girl, "I'm on the Autobots' side. I spy on the Decepticons _for_ the Autobots, _even though_ I really am a decepticon. OK?" Then Caterwaul turned to the Autobots and asked, "Do you have any spare parts or scrap metal lying around that nobody needs? I'll travel faster if I have something to eat."

Ratchet nodded and gestured to a large box in a corner, "I suppose you could use those over there." Caterwaul thanked him, walked over to the crate, and started gulping down large quantities of cybertronian metal. Bukhead and Arcee helped explain to the kids what they knew about Caterwaul: That she'd been a great help to the Autobots by infiltrating Decepticon teams to defeat them from within. Meanwhile, the mechanical feline was slowly but surely growing longer, taller, and larger as she ingested more metal. By the time the box was empty, Caterwaul was almost twice the size of a human! She was also a lot perkier.

**OK, so how was that? Not too bad, I hope. I'll try to update again soon, as long as school doesn't swamp me with HW. I do hate it so. Oh, and by the way… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Oh, and did I mention, PLEASE!**


	9. Chapter 9

…**Hello. I am sad, for one of our neon-tetra fish has died of old age. I named him Avery. I now publish this chapter, on the day of his death, to honor him. **

Although small by most transformer standards, Caterwaul was huge compared to her previous cat-size. She was now about 10 feet tall when in robot mode, and roughly 5 feet tall when in feline mode. Her rapid size change had greatly perked her up, so much in fact, that she offered the three kids a ride on her back. This eventually got Miko to forgive her, and got Jack to stop mistrusting her so openly.

Raf told her that he thought she was really brave to go spying on the other Decepticons, to which she jokingly replied, "Thanks. But I'm sure that the only dangerous or hard part of it will be trying not to laugh at their stupidity!"

Eventually, it was time for her to leave to continue on her mission. By the time she was just a couple miles away from the Autobot base, it had begun to rain. Soon, she was running through a torrential downpour, still searching in vain for the other decepticons. So, in hopes that maybe _they_ could find _her,_ Caterwaul retracted her soaking fur, looking once more like a giant metal cat.

Hopefully, this would attract more transformer-type attention than a large, non-robotic looking cat. Now Caterwaul's outer armor was completely drenched, every part of her was sodden, and she was getting tired.

She was even beginning to wonder if being struck by lightning would be a good thing… Would it recharge her or kill her? Caterwaul sighed and stood up on her back legs, trying to spot anything that could be helpful. Nothing was there.

So she thought about random things to distract herself from her exhaustion, sogginess, and boredom. She thought about why humans had blood and transformers had energon. She thought about if trees enjoyed being climbed on. She thought about funny, jumpy squirrels. She thought about if clouds on earth were soft and fluffy, or just wet and mean. She thought about stuff exploding.

And she thought about her name. Caterwaul. The actual word meant to yowl or scream. She thought about herself. She thought about caterwauling. Then she thought about _herself_ caterwauling; _that_ would certainly draw attention.

'Yes!' she suddenly realized, she could get attention by sound, and not by just sight alone. So, since she knew that most decepticons flew, she looked for flying vehicles in the sky. She saw a fighter jet, with slightly jagged-looking wings, and she yowled loudly. It flew away. She saw a fighter jet again, several minutes later. It looked like the same one. More cautiously, she yowled again, and it left. Hmm…

She spotted an airplane, but it didn't seem very… very decepticon-ish. She saw the jet again and hissed. This time, it'd been slow enough for her to see it's purple insignia. A while later, she saw an odd-looking, white-ish, plane-like aircraft. She yowled as loud as she could through the rain and her fatigue. The strange plane paused, flew a bit closer, and flew away after a moment. _That_ had been decepticon-ish, she could tell. Maybe it was going to get the rest of the decepticons…

After nearly half an hour, Caterwaul had begun to lose hope. Then, she heard something. Looking towards the sound, she glimpsed an approaching vehicle, driving toward her. It felt _very_ decepticon-ish. Squinting, she managed to identify it.

It was a dark blue jeep.

**I hope you enjoyed it. Can you guess who the jet, plane, and jeep are? **


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi! I know I haven't updated in a while. Sorry 'bout that, peoples. I've been working on my other story, "A Transformer Discovery". Anyway, please review! *says in a creepy voice* _REVIEEEWWWW…!_**

After so many failed attempts, Caterwaul wondered if it was even worth the effort to get the blue jeep's attention. What if she was wrong and it was just some human? Just to be sure, Caterwaul waved her spiny tail in the air and stood on her hind legs.

There. That should do it. Any human would leave, but a Decepticon might not…

The vehicle slowed a little bit as it approached. Caterwaul began to dispair. If only it could be bright and sunny, instead of pouring rain. Then she should be able to see if the blue vehicle had a Decepticon insignia, and it could see hers.

Losing hope, Caterwaul let out an exhausted, moaning yell, and waved her limp tail again. The dark blue jeep sped up a little. Then, to Caterwaul's eternal and infinite relief, it began to transform.

Caterwaul made another sound, one that was ½ purr, ½ cheer. An enormous, dark azure blue decepticon, almost twice her height, with an orange face and one yellow optic, stood before her in the pouring rain.

"Hi," Caterwaul breathed. She seemed to have difficulty functioning correctly. Apparently, her organic half was not limited only to fur and claw advantages, but had the disadvantage of needing air and rest.

"Who are you?" the Decepticon in front of her questioned. She panted hoarsely, "Name: Caterwaul. Side: Decepticon. Status: searching for other Deceptic- C-_ckah! Ckahh! Ckkahh!_"- she coughed- "Searching for other Decepticons." She didn't want to show any weakness, but she kept shivering, and the exhaustion, pouring rain, and stress wasn't helping much.

Just to make completely sure, the large blue Decepticon asked her, "What are you doing here?" Caterwaul managed to suppress her weariness temporarily as she stated, "I'm here, looking for other Decepticons… Here to join any team that will take me in."

She dragged her exhausted self into a sitting position, which easily revealed her purple Decepticon insignia as proof of who she was. Caterwaul had to dig her claws into the rocky ground just to keep herself upright. She'd been unsuccessfully searching for hours in the relentless rain, which felt like hail, and had been yelling her head off for nearly an hour. She just couldn't give up now!

But her head kept drooping, her paws were starting to go numb, and she couldn't move her tail an inch. Caterwaul looked up and dully noticed that she was no longer sitting up, but was slumped over on her side. The rain had made her fur heavy and sodden, so it felt impossible to get back up.

"Heavy fur," she thought blearily, "Not good. Need to get rid... of some of the weight. So tired." She retched up a large portion of metal. Then a bit more. Nope. Wasn't helping very much. She was still too drained.

"Get up," she told herself, her mind feeling fatigued and fuzzy, "Get up. Have to find the other Decepticons…" She wondered if clouded leopards really could die of exhaustion. Or if Decepticons could…

"I'll… find 'em… later…" she mumbled, and closed her eyes.

**Weellll…? What'd ya think? Not too bad, right? PLEASE REVIEW, C'MON I ONLY HAVE 7 AND NOT MANY OF THEM ARE NICE JUST A FEW WHICH I APPRECIATE BUT STILL! I'd appreciate if more people would read and review. Please? It's not that hard, humans! I-I mean **_**readers**_**… Ignore the small robotic alien behind the curtain from 'The Wizard of Oz'!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello again! I apologize for my lack of updates. School is driving me insane, and I keep writing up new chapters instead of publishing older ones! Anyway, here ya' go! I don't own transformers, only Caterwaul and her insanity.**

Caterwaul slowly opened her eyes. She had been awake for a while, but was still so tired that she could hardly breathe. Which had been bad for her organic half.

The exhausted feline blinked slowly and looked around a little bit. The rain had finally stopped, and the day was already very warm. Her thoughts were moving very slowly, instead of their usual, hyperactive speed.

She tried to think about everything that was going on at that one point in time. She was smaller than usual. The sun was shining very much. She was still a little soggy. There was a big, rubber tire on the ground. She was curled up inside of the large tire. Where had it come from?

After a few more minutes, Caterwaul had regained enough energy to stand up without becoming lightheaded or collapsing. She slithered out of the tire and sat in the sunlight, thinking.

She sniffed at the tire, and thought it smelled a little bit familiar. Sort of like that other Decepticon that she'd met the day before, when it was raining. Caterwaul vaguely remembered asking to join the other Decepticons, being completely exhausted, and then falling asleep right afterwards.

No, wait. There was something else that was just at the corner of her memory. What was it? She had been exhausted, she'd asked to join, and… then what? It took a while for Caterwaul to fully, truly wake up, but when she did, she was able to completely remember everything.

What had happened was that she had retched up a large amount of metal, making herself smaller. Then, she had collapsed on the ground. After that, the other Decepticon had pulled an extra tire off of his vehicle-mode and carefully put Caterwaul inside of the tire. He had driven away before Caterwaul fell asleep.

Caterwaul rose to her feet and scarfed down the metal that she'd gotten rid of the day before. As she finished, and grew a few feet taller in the process, she spotted… (wait for it…) a jet.

The _exact same_ jet that she'd seen several times while looking for other Decepticons. The _exact same_ jet with ragged, still healing wings, who Caterwaul had met in the woods.

Using her hyper-sensitive ears, Caterwaul just managed to hear it mutter angrily, "Scrap! That worthless little cat's still on-line! Why couldn't it have died in the storm? Oh, well. I can correct _that_."

The jet landed on the ground, several yards away from Caterwaul, and transformed into- who else?- Starscream.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Caterwaul shrieked, and she barreled into her enemy, knocking him to the ground with a crash. She locked her fangs into her foe's arm, snarling and slashing viciously at his face with her claws, and slicing his arm and shoulders with her tri-bladed tail.

Starscream, well, screamed, which didn't do him any good. Launching missiles past Caterwaul and slapping at her didn't help either. The cat just ripped off _more_ metal.

Just then, Caterwaul heard someone yell something in a hoarse, gravelly voice. The Decepti-cat paused in her well-deserved mauling of Starscream and looked up.

There was Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.

**OOOH! What's he gonna do to Caterwaul for shredding Screamy? … Yeah, he'll probably just laugh and enjoy the show. Please review for more chapters!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I. Like. Chainsaws. Just saying. I also like trying to be as original and creative as possible, and dislike it when people say that my stories are "_not __that interesting or original or exciting._" My chapters are short because I can update several short ones faster that 1 or 2 long ones. Constructive criticism is fine, but insults are not. Review kindly please.**

"Were you hurting Starscream?" Megatron asked Caterwaul.

"Yahh," she responded, her teeth still digging into the jet-Decepticon's arm.

"Why?" Megatron inquired curiously, to which Caterwaul responded very honestly (although with a distorted voice), "Ghee-cahs, ah heyc hing." (She meant "Because, I hate him.")

Caterwaul jabbed her foot-long tail blades deep into Starscream's arm, making him shriek, and the Decepti-cat pulled her fang-filled mouth away from him to continue, "He is obnoxious and ugly and stupid. May I join your group of Decepticons?"

"WHAT?" Starscream screeched in disbelief, just as Megatron nodded and said, "Of course." At this, Caterwaul did a joyful back flip, here tail blades still buried in Starscream's arm. This caused a large chunk of metal to be painfully ripped off.

Caterwaul snickered at the injured Decepticon's groan of agony. Heh heh heh.

Then the Decepti-cat questioned her new 'leader,' "So… now what?" "Now you will come to our ship," ordered the white Decepticon.

"OK!" Caterwaul said excitedly, then looked around, "Where?"

"You have to _fly_ to get there," the injured Starscream sneered at her. (No, actually, you don't. You just need a ground bridge. But as we all know, Starscream lies.)

"Well then it must take _you_ a long time to get there," Caterwaul retorted coolly, "Your flying stinks, you winged junk pile." Caterwaul thought she heard a faint snicker from Megatron's direction, but couldn't be sure.

Starscream scowled, "I'm going to blast your head off, you little-" He never finished, because Caterwaul sliced a piece of his leg off with her claws.

Then the Decepti-cat gathered up all of the scraps of metal lying around, ate them, and barfed them back up again. Immediately, she sculpted the blob of discarded metal into a shape that vaguely resembled the much-hated Starscream.

After that, Caterwaul demonstrated a small sample of what she would like to _do_ to Starscream: she ripped off the left wing, tore off the right leg, shredded both arms, slowly peeled off the right wing, yanked off the left leg, crushed the whole mangled little replica, and impaled it with all three of her tail blades.

Then she cackled manically and gave Starscream an evil smirk of pure malice and promises of excruciating torture. This would be fun…

Megatron was attempting to cover up his ever-increasing nasty chuckling, while Starscream was going through minor spasms and eye-twitches.

"I will send another Decepticon to explain everything to you before you come to our ship," Megatron informed Caterwaul, trying not to laugh at Starscream. Then the Decepticon leader transformed, started flying away, and lost his battle against laughing.

Caterwaul could hear bizarre-sounding laughter as her new 'leader' flew away. Then she glared at Starscream until he made a weird, I-think-I'm-going-to-die choking noise, transformed painfully, and flew clumsily away. It was funny.

A few moments later, the familiar, dark blue jeep (now with a missing extra tire) drove up to Caterwaul and transformed into the Decepticon that she'd met the day before.

"What happened to Starscream?" he asked, "He looks…weirder than usual." Caterwaul chuckled, and told her new teammate what had happened.

"Wow," he said with a hint of admiration, "By the way, my name's Breakdown."


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello. I have something to say. That-Buggy-Person, if you think my story is _sooo horrible_, then why are you even reading it? (And commenting so quickly, as if you were just _waiting_ for the next chapter.) And, no, I was _NOT_ threatening you, just writing the story. It was already written out that way before. You just happened to comment (very rudely) before the 1st official 'Torture-the-Starscream' chapter. That is all. Now, for all of the constructive-criticizers and nice-comments-people, thank you for reading and reviewing my story. You are all great!**

As soon as Caterwaul arrived at the gigantic, floating purple ship, she was pretty sure that she'd enjoy it there. There was plenty of space to run around and places to hide for prank- and ambush-plotting.

She was informed by Megatron that her first job was to know her way around and meet the other Decepticons. Caterwaul was also told that her second job would begin later: doing all the unpleasant things she wanted to do to Starscream (Besides killing him; that'd be Megatron's privilege if the jet-con got on his nerves too much).

For now, Caterwaul was content to wander around the ship with her assigned guide, the one-eyed Decepticon named Breakdown.

"So…" Caterwaul asked, "Why'd you help me out before, when it was raining?" The dark blue Decepticon shrugged and told her, "We could always use another Decepticon. You looked really worn-out though, but I figured you'd get a lot stronger if you had the chance to."

Caterwaul nodded and explained, "I'd been running around in that storm for hours, looking for other Decepticons. I was exhausted, and about to give up… until you showed up. And thanks for the tire. It kept out the rain really well."

"It was no big deal," Caterwaul's new teammate replied, and then started introducing her to some of the other Decepticons.

The next day, after resting in her very own room, Caterwaul was back to her 110% energy level. She was completely reenergized and couldn't wait to start her official mission of torturing Starscream. The best part, she decided, was that she'd actually been _told_ to do so, meaning that she wouldn't get in trouble for it!

Caterwaul let a small snicker escape her as she imagined all the awful things she could do to the hated jet-transformer. She thought about their first encounter, and how she had insulted him in various foreign languages. ('Baka' and 'kaigu' are Japanese words, and the other bit was Spanish.)

With a happy-yet-scary smile on her face, Caterwaul wondered if she should continue with her foreign language insults, and how her foe would react.

"Heh heh heh," she thought to herself, "This is going to be so much fun!" Before going to torment her enemy, Caterwaul got rid of some of her excess metal and left it her room. This made her smaller, lighter, and therefore, quicker and more agile. This could make her enemies even more frustrated during battle, because being defeated by something tiny could be humiliating.

Caterwaul soon found her target, almost done recharging in his room.

"Completely unprepared for the agony that I shall inflict," Caterwaul thought to herself as she slunk into the room.

**OOOHH, this oughtta be **_**good!**_** By the way, I know I'm not doing the character's personalities completely right, but it's really hard to do. If I had 'em exactly the way they are on the show, it might not fit my story. So, readers, thank you for your encouraging and advise-filled comments and reviews. The nice ones are appreciated very much.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Heh heh heh hehhh… And now, what you've all been waiting for: The torturing of the evil Starscream! Vengence for Cliffjumper's death! MWA HA HA HA HAA!**

Step 1: Sneak in and proceed to creep out and greatly disturb the Starscream.

Step 2: Hurt and retreat from the Starscream, several times for desired outcome.

Step 3: Act supremely scary and sinister, therefore greatly disturbing and scaring the Starscream. Heeheeheee…

Step 4: Use-eth the Power Of Guilt! (P.O.G.) (This may not prove entirely effective, because of the fact that the Starscream has neither conscience nor soul.)

Step 5: While the Starscream is freaked out and distracted, rip off a souvenir to keep as a trophy or scratching post. Then run away to gloat.

Step 6: Wait for results. Side effects include but are not limited to: the Starscream having a complete mental meltdown, paranoid hysteria displayed by the Starscream, witnessing the Starscream twitch and scream (obviously), and hopefully some explosions.

"Doom, doom, doom, _doom_," Caterwaul chanted in a creepy voice as she stalked up to the Decepticon, her claws clicking on the floor ominously. Starscream jumped about 5 feet in the air, and landed with an angry yelp.

Caterwaul grinned evilly and continued, "Doom. Dooom. Dooom. DOOM!" Starscream flinched at the feline's creepy tone.

Caterwaul sat on the floor, widening her eyes until they were enormous, which somehow made her look creepier, and went on, "Doomm. Doommm. _Dooom! DOOOMM!_" It sounded odd after saying it so much.

"Stop talking!" Starscream screeched at Caterwaul, who replied with an evil cackle of maniacal laughter. Then she zipped out of sight, hiding behind some random large object. **…Yeah, I didn't know what to put in, so 'random large object' it is!**

Cautiously, Sstarscream started towards it, but before he could reach Caterwaul's random hiding place, she leapt out at him from a different side, claws extended. This earned her a startled shriek from her target.

Caterwaul bit his shoulder, sinking her fangs deep, then disappeared again, reappearing to slice at her foe's back. Then she vanished again, and came back to lacerate his knees with her claws. Again, she reappeared, and crashed into Starscream from one side, shoving him over. And yet again the feline leaped at her enemy, clawing at his face.

At this point, much screaming, terrified yelling, shrieking, and pained moaning were coming from Starscream's room. This caught the attention of everyone on the ship, and they all wondered what kind of bizarre creature could possibly be dying such a hideous death so that it must scream in this manner.

Meanwhile, Caterwaul was enjoying herself immensely, slicing and slashing, ripping and biting, gouging and tearing at her enemy (non-lethally). She was having the time of her life, laughing in all sorts of scary, creepy, evil, and nasty ways.

Starscream however, was having one of the worst days of his lousy life, unable to defeat the puny scrap of a Decepticon. What'd he done to deserve this?

He was about to find out…

**Yeah. I got to really let my imagination go crazy this time. And bloody. Or would that be energon-y? I dunno. If you are as crazy and scary as me, then I hope you enjoyed this. If you aren't, then I apologize for scaring you and possibly scarring you for life.** **This was not intended. Anywho… That's all for now!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi, I'm back! Sorry for not updating sooner; I was buried in homework! Anyway, here's another Torture-the-Starscream chapter! WOOHOO!**

Caterwaul suddenly stopped and stood very still, as still as a wax statue (**you know, the kind that look so realistic that you just want to stare at them for an hour to see if they move?**), glaring at Starscream through narrowed eyes.

"What?" he asked, exhausted and frustrated. Caterwaul glared at him for a very long time, not moving at all, yet somehow looking scarier every second. (**I wish **_**I**_** knew how to do that!**)

Caterwaul placed a small object on the floor. It was a piece of reddish metal that she'd shaped very precisely. It was a very specific shape: sharply pointed at one end, and curved a little bit so that it resembled a small, red horn. It was a carefully crafted replica of one of a certain Autobot's most memorable features.

What Caterwaul had sculpted was a duplication of all that was left of the Autobot that Starscream had murdered. (**Yeah! Time for ****Step 4****: Power Of Guilt!**)

Suddenly bristle-furred and snarling, Caterwaul crouched down and sprang up, past Starscream, and onto a ledge, high up on one wall. As she jumped, Caterwaul curved her tri-bladed tail towards her most-hated-foe, causing a long, diagonal gash to slice painfully across his chest.

"What was that for?" Starscream yelled, not yet noticing the small red object on the ground in front of him. Caterwaul didn't answer, only leaped across the room to a ledge on the opposite wall.

Then the Decepti-cat jumped down, pushing off the wall and curving her tail blades toward her enemy again. This caused another large cut to open up across Starscream's chest, connecting with the first gash in a large, jagged X-shape.

"OUCHHH!" he yelled, "Stop that!" Using her tail one more time, Caterwaul picked up the pointed piece of red metal. Then, with incredible aim (**I like to think that Caterwaul and I are a lot alike, but here's one point where we differ. **_**My**_** aim stinks.**), she hurled it straight at Starscream, so that it pierced the center of the X-shape.

The Decepticon screamed in pain at the deep, but non-fatal, wound. Caterwaul snarled at him, and began to reply some of her recorded song-bits (**from chapter 4. She uses song-bits like Bumblebee from the movie, and does it so it sounds like other people are speaking and agreeing with her to hurt Starscream. Clever, eh?**).

"_Died there alone…_" from 'Deathbed'. "What?" Starscream shrieked, and Caterwaul growled at him, baring her fangs.

"_I watched you die, I heard you cry,_" from 'Because of You'. "Why are you doing this?" Starscream screeched, and Caterwaul replied with more lyrics.

"_So I'll make sure you get what you deserve,_" from 'Beggin' On Your Knees'. "For what?" the Decepticon asked, panicking, energon-blood seeping from his wound.

"_Torn into pieces,_" from 'Behind Theses Hazel Eyes'. Starscream fingered his dripping wound fearfully.

"_If it doesn't kill you, it's sure to leave a horrible scar!_" from 'Bones Shatter'. Then Caterwaul leaned in close, malice and hatred radiating off of her, and just before she ripped off part of Starscream's wing, whispered vengefully, "For Cliffjumper."

**Yes! Dramatic and morbid, this chapter is! …And like Yoda, I sound. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to update the next one sooner.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello. Yesterday, one of the baby 'Sunburst Wag Platy' fish in our fish tank was eaten by a fat 'Zebra Danio' fish.**** Why do I mention this? Because now the baby fish shall sort-of exist for all eternity since it's legacy is now recorded upon the Internet for all time. …And yes, I really do care that much about our fish. Why? 'Cause I love animals and I'm insane. Back to the story…**

Caterwaul raced back to her room, carrying a jagged piece of torn, metal wing in her jaws. It didn't taste good. (You tend to notice these things if you're a Cybertronian feline who can ingest and absorb metal.)

Starscream stood in his room, quivering and watching his own blue Energon-blood slowly trickle onto the floor. Drip… Drip… Drip…

That's how Cliffjumper had died, speared through the chest, watching his lifeblood seep out onto the stained floor. Starscream had done that to him. And now he was paying for it.

The Decepticon inspected his pointy-clawed hand very closely. To his horror, there was still dried, blue-ish Energon-blood there. He pulled back in disgust, trying to scrape it off, but the blood of the brave Autobot still stained his fingers. It always would.

After a moment, Caterwaul silently padded back into Starscream's room, her tail-blades clean and shining, without a trace of Energon blood on them.

"I didn't kill you," she said evenly to her foe, "Because if you were dead, then your suffering would be over. Actually, it's only just begun, so you won't be dying anytime soon."

Starscream shrank back from the feline, who snarled softly, "But when you do, I doubt you'll receive the same honorable ceremony as _Cliffjumper_ did."

Then Caterwaul stalked out of the room, knowing that Starscream felt no real guilt, only fear. That was good enough for her.

From her own room, the Decepti-cat could easily hear Starscream frantically telling Megatron that "the worthless little scrap" had tried to kill him. Pfft, liar.

"It's evil!" the jet shrieked, sounding extremely freaked out. Megatron simply scoffed, saying that the only reason Caterwaul _hadn't_ off-lined Starscream was because that'd be _his_ job if Starscream kept bothering him. Said Decepticon shut up very quickly.

So the evil and now-twitchy Starscream left and went back to plot- _*cough –hide- cough*_- in his room. Caterwaul purred smugly, and used the ragged wing-piece as a scratching post, sending nail-on-chalkboard screeches around the room.

Every grating scrape sent shivers down Starscream's spine as he listened, certain that Caterwaul was imagining _him_ as the scratching post. It's true that he didn't really feel guilty and probably never would, but he _was_ freaked out and scared, which pleased Caterwaul greatly.

As the Decepti-cat curled up to rest that night, she smiled quietly to herself. She decided she'd done pretty well for her first day. Of course, she'd had lots of practice. Many an Autobot had no need to seek vengeance for their fallen comrades, thanks to her.

That night, Caterwaul thought of the several Transformers that she had avenged by means of semi-torturing their murderers. She added Cliffjumper's name to the list in her head and wished, as she did for all the others, that he could have lived longer.

She peacefully dreamed of blue flowers, the color of Energon, gently growing over a small mound of light brown stones on a steep plateau. At peace.

**Well, there you go. You now know a bit of Caterwaul's history. She's like a combination of a good-guy bounty-hunter and a spy. Hope ya liked it. Please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

**HI! Sorry I haven't updated. Again. I keep writing new chapters instead of typing up older ones. Anyway, here ya go… **

After a few days, Caterwaul felt that she knew the Decepticon team rather well. In her mind, they were grouped into three main categories: "I-hate-you-so-much-just-die-already," "averagely-annoying-or-unpleasant," and "Not-nearly-as-bad-as-some."

She knew the names of all the Decepticons on the planet Earth, and a little bit of information on them, but not much about their personalities. Now she knew much.

Starscream and Arachnid (who she hadn't seen yet) fit into the first category, along with all the other killers that Caterwaul had ever encountered. And wreaked vengeance upon.

Megatron, of course, was the bossy, serious, evil overlord who was a pain in the tail, but Caterwaul couldn't think of anyone that he'd actually killed. This put him in the second category, along with most other Decepticons Caterwaul knew.

There were very, very, _very_ few Decepticons Caterwaul knew of that inhabited the last category. Breakdown happened to be one of them.

Not that Caterwaul would admit it.

She found out many interesting things while she stayed with the Decepticons on Earth. She discovered that most of the Decepticons on Earth disliked stormy weather, because it was noisy and distracting during battle. Caterwaul sympathized with that.

Caterwaul found out the (unsurprising) fact that most of the 'Cons hated Starscream. A lot. This was a good thing to know.

Caterwaul discovered that Knockout was unbelievably vain, and practically obsessed with keeping his fancy paint-job totally perfect. Caterwaul found this silly.

She also learned that Breakdown had problems with depth perception, because of his missing optic. Caterwaul felt bad for him.

"How… How did you lose your eye?" she inquired hesitantly one day, asking the question that'd been gnawing at her incessantly.

Breakdown told her that a gang of humans had taken it, along with other bits of circuitry. Caterwaul's fur bristled in disgust at this, and she asked why the humans would have done such a loathsome thing.

The dark blue Decepticon said that the humans had wanted to upgrade their machines by using the technology that they'd stolen from him.

"Oh," Caterwaul whispered, horrified, "I'm sorry I asked about it." He didn't seem to mind, but Caterwaul decided to stop eating parts off of other Transformers. It seemed too similar to what the humans had done.

A few days afterwards, the same awful group, M.E.C.H. as it was called, attacked while Caterwaul, Breakdown, and Knockout were on a scouting mission. Caterwaul didn't have any extra Cybertronian-metal to eat, making her small enough to possibly get crushed and badly hurt.

Knowing this, Breakdown placed Caterwaul on his shoulders, so she'd be in less danger during the battle. As a result, Caterwaul was able to warn him of any sneak-attacks from behind, like the helicopters with tazer-weapons.

Caterwaul was able to jump up and take one down with a fantastic explosion. Eventually, they won the battle, and it became a good strategy for her to keep watch from Breakdown's shoulders, in a way replacing his missing eye with her two.

Caterwaul was just deciding that the two of them made a pretty good team, when there was another battle. This time, it was with the Autobots.

**Ooh! Let's see Caterwaul's acting skills put to the test! In the next chapter. So, you must wait! Mwahaha, aren't I evil?**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello once again! I am back. And now that I am back, there shall be more chapters in need of readers to read them. Please, together we can put an end to chapter poverty and make the world a better place. For the children! Or whatever.**

"Oh no," Caterwaul thought to herself with a faint sigh. As soon as she heard Megatron's order of, "ATTACK!" she knew she'd be in for a hard time.

She'd forgotten to inform the Autobots that she'd be pretending to fight them. She hoped they'd be able to tell it was just an act, without the Decepticons finding out. Being a double agent/ spy could really stink sometimes.

The 'Cons had been mining energon when the Autobots suddenly appeared from behind mountains of rock and stone, geared for battle.

It was a good thing that Caterwaul was in robot mode, or the others would have seen her nervously bristling fur. It was time for battle, something Caterwaul always dreaded. There was always so much that could go wrong!

A Decepticon warrior-class drone gave the alarm, and everything surged into fighting, battling, deadly chaos.

"Outta the way, Caterwaul," Breakdown warned her, "They're tougher than those M.E.C.H. punks, and I don't want you getting stepped on!" Then he ran off to fight Bulkhead, the largest Autobot there. Caterwaul winced at the blows she saw exchanged.

Dodging around wheels, legs, bodies, and cannon fine, Caterwaul raced through the fight, trying to look like she was contributing to the battle without causing any harm.

She noticed a cloud of dust, where the Autobot Bumblebee was firing blindly at Soundwave. It was going badly for the Autobot scout, so Caterwaul raced over to him.

She jumped in front of one of the stray blasts, cringing at the pain it brought as the shot singed her side and back. Then the Decepti-cat limped toward the startled Autobot, lashing her tail in a mock-threat, but keeping the blades carefully sheathed.

She jumped at Bumblebee and lashed out with her claws, making sure to not actually hit him or cause any damage. Then she zipped past and re-entered the fray, pretending to claw at different Autobots who she ran into, but only batting at the air.

Caterwaul dodged around separate fights, breaking the combatants apart from one another for seconds before she could zip away again. The Decepti-cat purposefully scraped against rocks and smudged energon-blood on herself to appear wounded, a guise that had worked many a time.

Finally, having gotten hit by fists and cannon-blasts (for real) several times, Caterwaul felt certain that she'd done a fairly convincing job. If only she'd brought along a message container. They were small, metal holding cases that she would keep notes in, to secretly give to the Autobots during battle.

Caterwaul resolved to bring one, with a progress-report inside, the next time she and the other Decepticons met the Autobots in battle. She should've remembered that a skirmish could happen at any time.

Eventually, the Decepticons were forced to retreat, carrying about half of the collected energon-crystals that they'd gathered.

'Good victory,' Caterwaul thought to herself, 'The Autobots now have more energon-crystals, and they know I've found my fellow 'Cons, who are now convinced that I'm on their side.'

She felt certain that she'd done a convincing job. Until she realized that Starscream was staring at her suspiciously. He'd been doing so since the battle; He knew she hadn't been fighting for real. Caterwaul's cover had been blown.

**Oh no! The hero's arch nemesis has discovered her secret! Tune in next time for the exciting next episode! And while you wait, please review. Reviews are nice. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Wow, another chapter so soon? This is in case I don't have a chance to update more later. School and its torture-instruments of homework can be very unpredictable. Anyway, here ya go.**

Back inside the floating purple ship, Caterwaul was congratulated on her first battle with the enemy. It was about as heart-warming as every other time she'd been accepted into another Decepticon team, meaning it was as moving as a rock.

A very nice rock. It still made Caterwaul feel queasy inside that they were accepting her, and that she'd have to help the Autobots defeat them eventually. It still felt like betrayal. And it still hurt.

After the slightly-less-serious-than-usual-amount-of-time-that-theDecepticons-considered-a-party-because-they're-usually-serious-almost-all-the-time, Caterwaul stalked up to her least favorite 'Con on the ship.

"What. Is. It," she ground out, her voice like ice. "You-you're a traitor!" the twitchy jet burst out. Nobody else heard him because the others were working or recharging on the other side of the ship.

"What makes you say that, killer?" Caterwaul asked calmly, using the nickname that reminded Starscream why she hated his guts. (**Uh, mechanical guts. Whatever.**)

He flinched back a little, his large, X-shaped wound still aching, and stuttered, "You're with the Autobots. You're not a Decepticon!"

"Oh?" Caterwaul asked sarcastically, "Then why in the _universe_ could this purple Decepticon insignia mean?" She stood at her full height, (which at this point was only about 9 feet or so) showing quite visibly her 'Con symbol.

"I saw you in the battle!" Starscream scowled, "You never actually damaged a single Autobot, and didn't even get hurt. You're on _their_ side! I always knew you were!"

Caterwaul's golden optics narrowed dangerously as she calmly retorted, "And _I_ always knew that _you_ were a coward and murderer. And a traitor to your 'great lord Megatron.' Everyone knows you've constantly tried pathetic attempts to overthrow him. So even if you tell him what you _assume_ I am, do you honestly think he'll believe you?"

Starscream faltered for a moment, but said, as if to convince himself as well as Caterwaul, "I can tell everyone else, and they'll kill you! Even if those fools are too blind to find out for themselves, Soundwave can easily observe and report your treachery!"

Caterwaul growled, "Look who's talking! I'm not an Autobot, and there's no way you'll persuade anyone to believe that lie. If you try, I could always tell the Autobots who it was that slaughtered their friend Cliffjumper!"

Starscream flinched slightly at the name, and Caterwaul continued, "And then you'll have more Transformers than just _me_ to fear. Megatron is just _waiting_ for a reason to get rid of you, and I'm sure that hearing you telling lies about me will give him the perfect excuse."

"What?" Starscream blustered, "You're blackmailing me?" Caterwaul gave a dry, joyless laugh, "Well, I _am_ a Decepticon, aren't I?"

The Decepti-cat started to walk away, then turned back toward the furious jet, and repeated pointedly, "_Aren't I?_"

After a moment's hesitation, Starscream finally growled in defeat, "Yes."

And Caterwaul went back to her own room, where she curled up in one corner, and felt like retching.

**Hope this was OK. I know, hardly anything happened, sorry. Caterwaul sometimes has a hard time dealing with everything, which I was trying to show here. What did you think? I'll gladly accept advice, and constructive criticism if it's kindly meant. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi! I apologize for the lack of recent updates, and I say –once again- that it is school's fault. (Plus I was grounded from the computer for 2 days.) Therefore, whenever I don't update for a while, feel free to blame school, lack of sleep, or whatever. Or, if you want, blame global warming!**

Caterwaul sat in her room quietly. She was so frustrated and worried and felt so completely miserable that she didn't even have the energy to eat the pieces of scrap metal that she'd collected and put in a corner.

The Decepti-cat sighed, feeling sad and mentally exhausted. Her squabble with Starscream had been tiring. And dangerous.

She remembered what the jet had said about Soundwave. She'd heard enough about the 'Con to know that he was exceptionally observant and extremely loyal to Megatron (though she had no idea why, since Megatron was bossy and unpleasant to everyone. Maybe the two were related or something).

Caterwaul was very fortunate that Soundwave had been on the other side of the ship, organizing data during the Decepti-cat's quarrel with the jet.

Still, her relief at remaining mostly undiscovered was shadowed by the usual guilt and self-reproach that always came with her missions. Caterwaul knew that by helping the Autobots, she was helping protect the universe.

That didn't help. And neither did the fact that most of the other Decepticons had been relatively welcoming to her. Caterwaul knew she'd have to give them up sooner or later, and it never got easier.

Caterwaul's missions always began the same way, continued on, and ended almost the same way every time; she'd join with a Decepticon team, gain their trust, and then would hand them in to the Autobots.

This usually involved luring the team into some kind of ambush or trap, or deactivating all their weapons right before a battle in which they were sure to be outnumbered, or telling the Autobots all about a risky mission the 'Cons were planning.

And then the Autobots would win and take the rest of the team prisoner and lock them up. And Caterwaul would hide out of sight, too ashamed to watch.

The cries of outrage, hurt, fury, and betrayal never faded from her mind, no matter how many times she told herself that she was doing the right thing.

It almost never turned out well. Caterwaul felt worse after every mission-completion, and felt her spark come closer and closer to breaking every time.

She agreed with the Autobots, but wasn't –and never would be- one. Yet she wasn't like most of the other Decepticons. She didn't fit in or belong anywhere, so she helped 'Bots by working with 'Cons. Her life had stopped making sense a long time ago.

Occasionally, rarely, there would be a victory. A triumph for the Autobots that resulted in less heartbreak for the bitter and lonely Caterwaul.

So very, very rarely, a Decepticon would change sides and join the Autobots. Caterwaul did her best to assist this without blowing her cover, which made her job more complicated, but was always worth it. This was always what gave her hope.

The Decepti-cat consoled herself with this thought, and managed to, temporarily, block out her guilt. It wasn't easy, and she knew that it never would be.

For now though, for now, she was calm and relatively safe. Caterwaul drifted off to sleep, wishing for a brighter future. She needed it badly.

She'd been through a lot, and it wouldn't be ending anytime soon…

**Heh heh, sorry this chapter was so serious… and, I think I could've written it a lot better too. Sorry 'bout that. Please review with comments or advice!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello once again people! Here's a (hopefully) funny chapter, to make up for how serious the last one was. Hope ya like it.**

About three days later, after Caterwaul's episode of depression (of which she was a frequent sufferer) the Decepticons completely lost it.

_WHY_ you ask? To tell the truth, it was partly because they were bored. I mean, 48 whole hours of no mayhem what so ever? Well, they just went crazy! What exactly did they do, you might ask? Welllll…

They were going into vehicle mode and playing chicken, using one another for target practice, racing and getting into fights because nobody could agree on who won… it was insanity!

So Megatron told them to go and blow up the town, instead of their highly expensive floating purple-ish ship. And so it was that chaos filled the desert. And any deserted bits of the town.

Apparently, the Decepticons had gotten into some _baaadddd_ energon, since they were mostly doing stupid prank-things.

Soundwave recorded and played the most annoying songs known to man (and semi-aquatic mammals) at extremely high volumes, so it could be heard 6.37 miles away. (**Yeah, someone actually measured. Wierdo.**)

Breakdown and Knockout had a game of 'catch' using small vehicles and large, broken appliances that they found in a junkyard. Several times, they "accidentally" hit one or more of the other Decepticons.

The drones drove around causing horrendous traffic jams in the usually-quiet town, driving through the aisles in a grocery store, and knocking over garbage cans. (**Hey, I never said they were creative.**)

Starscream flew over the town shooting at random buildings just to see the humans panic and freak out. (**And even **_**I'll **_**admit that it was rather amusing.**) Nobody died of course, because Caterwaul had promised the jet that if anyone died, she'd torture him even _more_. So he ensured that nobody died.

Caterwaul, in her clouded-leopard form, chased, pounced on, and promptly released any humans she saw. It was fun, because they made funny noises.

Megatron had, of course, accompanied the other 'Cons to keep an optic on them. After a few minutes, he couldn't take it any more and simply left, and went back to the big pointy ship. It was wonderful inside, with no hysterical 'Cons running rampant or trying to annoy or shoot him.

Or thinking that they could, for some reason, turn him into a potato and play with energon-cubes and use mini, portable ground-bridges to teleport anywhere they wanted. (**I don't own the Portal game.**)

Of course, after the Decepticons' leader left, everyone went even more insane! Sounwave played even _more_ annoying songs at high pitches that made dogs totally freak out for a few minutes and caused windows to shatter.

Knockout and Breakdown played a marvelously destructive game of baseball, using telephone poles as bats, and small cars, lawnmowers, and chainsaws as baseballs. (**I have ****no idea**** where they got the chainsaws.**)

Starscream crashed into random buildings, which a few humans got on video. It was funny, and Caterwaul enjoyed watching it immensely. Said Decept-icat freaked people out by climbing through people's broken windows and just laughing at them.

The drones knocked over shelves of soup cans in the grocery store and drove over them, leaving tire-tracks of soup everywhere. (**Again, not very creative, but very, **_**verrryyy**_** entertaining.**)

Later, Megatron happened to be watching the news for some reason. (**He was able to do so because Soundwave had hacked the news-station several weeks back. I still don't know why, since I doubt it could be of any use to them, but oh well.**)

He happened to see a news report about what was happening near -and in- the town. He abruptly turned off the monitor and decided that his entire team had truly horrific mental problems.

Finally, the Autobots showed up. They managed to lure the insane 'Cons out of the town and easily defeat them. Of course.

Even in her delirious state of mind, Caterwaul remembered to deliver a message-container to the Autobots during the fight. If it could even be called that, since it mostly involved the 'Cons acting crazy and having really bad aim while the Autobots stared at them and then pushed them over.

After the easy victory, the Autobots returned to base to read the message that Caterwaul had given them. It said that she was still on the Autobots' side, and that her cover had nearly been blown. And that Starscream was an idiot and that Arcee should beat him up.

**Wow, longer chapter than usual! I hope you liked it. There will be a couple more crazy chapters right after this one, by the way!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hi, again! This is gonna be another weird chapter, and it probably won't make any sense, so please don't take it too seriously. **

The day after their crazed rampage, the Decepticons had to take the day off, since they all needed to rest and recuperate.

Remember that 'bad energon' they'd had? Well, it turned out to be from energon-crystals that'd absorbed large amounts of trace minerals from the ground. And those minerals and chemicals had been similar to the main ingredients in… caffeine.

So, it was basically the Transformer equivalent to a sugar high. Therefore, the Decepticon team spent most of the day acting delirious and loopy, which proved to be very… interesting.

Starscream couldn't figure out how to transform out of jet-mode, and spent the entire day locked in his room, flying in circles a few inches above the floor. And occasionally yelling about whatever random topic crossed his delusional mind. Usually involving cheese, Legos, large sticks, or a swing set for some reason.

Knockout kept muttering gibberish while trying to drive up a wall, flapping his car-mode doors like absurd little wings. And then he'd ask questions -about the fuzzy dice that humans keep in their cars- to nobody.

The drones were scraping dried soup off of their armor, throwing fruit at one another, and clawing at the walls, because they'd forgotten that there was a door.

Soundwave just sat really limply in a large chair, repeating every single noise he heard at once, over and over, and sometimes twitching or spasming for no apparent reason. Often, he'd look around wildly for a second, and then go limp again.

Breakdown spent the day humming really, really off key, wondering about the bizarre little earth-creatures called ferrets, spinning in circles, and constantly petting Caterwaul's furry head.

The Decepti-cat herself wasn't much better. She acted like a cat the entire day, meowing and purring (and flopping around like a fish for an unknown reason), and then viciously insulting random Transformers that she'd met throughout her life.

Meanwhile, the Autobots were helping rebuild the damaged sections of town (carrying building supplies in their vehicle-modes, clearing away rubble, etc.) They were all pondering why Caterwaul'd specifically asked for Arcee to beat up Starscream, and trying to understand why the town's inhabitants kept talking about how they were "scarred for life."

And some people who'd gotten the entire incident on video, sold the DVDs they'd made from it and got rich, and included it in their autobiographies. I think one of them was my sister. (_Fireflare__: I wish this actually happened! 8D _**CrazyCatGirl****: I know, sis, me too. That'd be awesome!**)

Back in the big, pointy, vaguely-pinecone-shaped ship, Megatron was busy wondering what in the universe could be wrong with his troops.

They were actually, at that moment, hiding the caffeine-energon, saving it for whenever it might be of use. Or if they ever got bored again.

The problem was… Megatron'd had some of it too, and was soon to have an explosive delayed-reaction!

**Heh heh heh… I hoped you enjoyed it, because there are more chapters where that came from! What'd ya think? (By the way, thank you TransFanFreak101 for so many great reviews!)**


	23. Chapter 23

**AAAAA! I haven't updated anything in so long! I'm so sorry! By the way, this chapter will make no sense at all, just like the last. I know this kind of stuff'd never happen, so please don't say it isn't realistic; I know it isn't. It's just crazy. **

"We're DOOMED!" Knockout screamed as Megatron chased him and al of the other Decepticons through the ship.

"HELP!" Breakdown yelled as they all raced around a corner, trying to find someplace to hide.

"He wants to KILL MEEEEE!" Starscream shrieked, to which Caterwaul replied with a sneer, "He's always wanted to do that, so this should come as no surprise!"

Soundwave just repeated everyone's screaming, since he never talks.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" Megatron shouted, still chasing the other Decepticons and shooting at them crazily. It was going to be 'one of those days.'

The day had started off rather badly, obviously. Megatron had gone totally crazy as soon as he woke up from recharging. Then he'd blasted open everyone's doors and started chasing them.

Apparently, he thought that everybody was one or the other of his most hated enemies: Optimus or Starscream.

And now the Decepticons were cornered by their crazed leader and had no choice but to blast their way around Megatron to escape, which only made him act even crazier.

Finally, with nowhere else to run, they went through the groundbridge to the desert, hoping that they'd be able to outrun Megatron there. No such luck.

On the ground, they _still_ weren't safe, so they ran, drove, and flew for their lives. In doing so, they rushed right past the stupid M.E.C.H. humans, who were too foolish to know that something was up and that they should leave.

They ended up rather singed and partially flattened, since Megatron was still in his robot-mode and decided to shoot at and run over them. (**I'd love to see that!**) And nobody heard from the M.E.C.H. people for almost an entire month afterwards.

Being the largest of the Decepticons currently on earth, he was, of course, one of the fastest. And he was gaining on them!

"We can't outrun him!" a drone shouted, and another agreed, "He's too fast!" A third added, as a cannon blast scorched the ground behind him, "And completely insane!"

"And we can't beat him!" Breakdown yelled in panic, "Any ideas?" Caterwaul eagerly suggested a brilliant plan, "I say we just let 'im kill Screamer!"

"NO!" the jet screeched, and Knockout reluctantly agreed, "For once, he's actually right! Megatron would still keep chasing us even after Starscream's offline!"

'I still say we let Megatron kill him,' Caterwaul thought, but instead responded, "Well, I do have _onnnne_ more idea…" When the others heard it, they nearly forgot to stop fleeing in terror.

"No way!" they protested, and tried splitting up to escape from Megatron how _they_ wanted. It failed entirely, since Megatron just transformed, flew even faster than he ran, and basically herded the others back together like a deranged sheepdog.

Desperation finally took over, and the 'Cons eventually agreed to Caterwaul's idea, right after some of the drones almost got pieces of themselves blown off.

They headed toward the town, knowing that the ensuing chaos would bring the Autobots running. And then the Decepticons would have to perform the most difficult task they'd ever done: ASKING. FOR. HELP.

**Heh. There you go. Again, I am SO SO SO SORRY for not updating sooner.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Ok. You might be getting a little sick of all these crazy-weirdness chapters, but don't worry. There's just this one and the next to go, and then the bizarre chapters end for now. If you liked 'em, then yay! If ya didn't, just wait, be patient. **

The Autobots pulled back in surprise from the Decepticons' unexpected onslaught of… pleading? At least that's what it sounded like, since the 'Cons were all yelling at once, and some sort of grudgingly (since they hated asking for help).

Here's a little bit of what the startled Autobots heard: "Help us!" "Megatron's so crazy he'll kill us all!"

"At first he only wanted to kill Starscream!" "Which we were ok with!" "Hey! I take offense to that!" "No one cares what you think, Screamer!"

"Just get us outta here!" "Megatron's coming!" "What?" "Aaaaaa!" "Run! RunRunRunRunRun!" "Every Decepticon for himself!" "He'll just pick us off!" "Aaaa!"

And there was much incoherent screaming all around as Megatron showed up, ignored the Autobots, and crazily fired at his own troops. In light of this odd predicament, the Autobots decided to talk it over.

And while the 'Bots debated this highly unusual situation, the Decepticons grew more and more desperate. Now, Megatron was asking random questions while shooting at them all. It was very unnerving to say the least.

"What's the point of having a giant floating pinecone ship if it takes so much energy to keep it in the air? Where does Optimus's trailer go? Why're my teeth pointy?"

With every bizarre (and sometimes reasonable) question, Megatron shot more and more wildly. Finally, the Autobots agreed to hide the desperate 'Cons and distract Megatron. (**I dunno exactly where they hid them; the Autobots won't tell me.**)

"On one condition!" Miko (back at Autobot Base) commented over the Autobots' commlinks, "There's one thing I'd like to see…"

(**Warning: freaky idea is approaching.**)

So that's how it came to be that the Autobots and Decepticons hid someplace relatively safe in the desert. Meanwhile, Miko, Caterwaul, and a few brave Drones watched something horrific-yet-almost-funny-if-you-have-a-strange-sense-of-humor.

(**Warning: really freaky-idea-that-could-never-happen is imminent.**)

"Yeah, this is even weirder than I'd expected," Miko whispered and Caterwaul nodded. The drones nearby just twitched in response.

Megatron less than a mile from the town, and was under the impression that doing the "Carameldansen" dance for two hours would cause all of his enemies to drop dead.

While nobody actually dropped dead, the sight of Megatron doing a funny dance ruined several humans' days. An older guy saw this disturbing spectacle and almost had a heart attack, but instead fainted with only his mental health damaged.

A woman saw the huge 'Con dancing, and all her hair turned white. A girl heard about it and was warned her brother not to look, but he did and went partially blind for several hours. Several young children watched and were traumatized for life.

A few teens wound up needing months of therapy, and a couple people either screamed or had spasms any time they ever heard the song again. Miko, of course, recorded Megatron's dancing and downloaded it onto YouTube, and the Internet was never the same.

Thankfully, the government assured people that it was only special effects for a movie that was going to be made. And the next day, Megatron couldn't remember anything that'd happened.

**Ok, yeah, I know; this part was sooooo stupid. This is the only chapter that I won't mind having criticism directed at, 'cause it's so horrendous and weird. Sorry! **


	25. Chapter 25

**Thank you everybody, for your very encouraging and helpful reviews. As a random side-note for no apparent reason, I love trees! Yeah, I'm a crazy tree-hugger person, yay! OK, now that my insanity-quota for the day has been filled…**

The following day, the Decepticons all avoided their leader as much as possible, since they had no idea what might happen while he was delirious.

As it turned out, he seemed to be… drawing pictures. On the floor. With his pointy hand-claws. They were pictures of how he wanted to kill his enemies, particularly Starscream.

Megatron apparently either had no artistic talent whatsoever, or nobody could fully comprehend what he drew because it was so horrifying.

In any case, everyone aboard the "pinecone ship" (as he still called it) stayed as far away from Megatron as they could. Until Caterwaul suggested something that might be fun to do to him.

Maybe the 'Cons still had some of the caffeine-energon in their systems, because they eventually agreed. After agreeing to the Decepticat's strange idea, the Decepticons set out to get the needed supplies.

Starscream had to get several buckets of purple paint. Knockout and Breakdown had to get the biggest quartz crystals they could find. Soundwave had to get several of his cameras. Caterwaul had to get 10… ferrets? (**Yes, ferrets, because I love ferrets.**) And the drones had to get ferret-treats and glue.

Everyone returned to the ship with their cargo, via ground-bridge. Then, they all watched curiously as Caterwaul painted the quartz purple, using her tail-fur.

She then stuck ferret-treats to the crystals with the glue and, after waiting for it to dry, the plan (***cough cough* ****prank**) was ready!

Cautiously, the Decepticons snuck over to where Megatron was in the supply room, still drawing pictures of Starscream dying. Caterwaul quietly snickered, while the jet-con felt as if he was going to be sick.

Then, Caterwaul shoved the pile of quartz crystals into the room as fast as she could, and everyone hid.

From their hiding places, the Decepticons were able to see their leader pick up the crystals and start yelling about Dark energon. Megatron then tried to jab a piece of quartz into his chest. Nothing happened, except that the crystal broke.

"Why aren't I glowing with Dark energon power?" he demanded out loud, and then attempted to actually _eat_ some of the crystals, which didn't work at all.

And that's when Caterwaul sent in the ferrets.

The adorable furry animals could smell the treats on the quartz, and began dragging the crystals away. (**It was really cute to watch; anyone who has a ferret knows what I'm talking about.**)

"NOOOO!" Megatron shouted hysterically, "The fuzzy things are stealing my Dark energon! Stop it, fuzzies!" The fuzzies scattered, dropping the purple quartz and bouncing away in a most adorable and hilarious fashion.

Megatron, still delusional, thought the ferrets had his 'Dark energon,' and chased them around the ship. While he did so, Caterwaul and the others hid the purple quartz, and then ran off.

When Megatron came back to the room, unable to catch any of the ferrets, the purple crystals were gone. Caterwaul used the remaining ferret-treats to lure out the fuzzies, after which she returned them all to the pet store where she'd gotten them.

To this day, Megatron still thinks the whole thing was a hallucination.

**Didn't make sense, I know. Fear not; the next chapter has no more craziness.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hi again! Here's another chapter. Thanks 'fer the nice reviews! I can't really think of anything else to say, so here ya go, peoples!**

Finally, the days of insanity ended. At least for a while…

So everyone took a break, glad that –for now- nobody was running for their life, there were no explosions (**Phooey**) and nobody was completely insane or delirious.

It was a rather nice, peaceful day in fact. So Caterwaul decided to enjoy the brief interval of rare peace, and went to nap on the ship's roof. It was a little chilly up in the sky, and the Decepti-cat enjoyed the warmth of resting in the sunlight and quiet.

She hoped that everyone was enjoying the calmness of the day as much as she was; there was no fighting, the sun was shining, and she was relaxed enough to nap.

A second after she closed her eyes, Caterwaul heard an unwelcome clanking/stomping noise. Someone was walking on top of the ship, and close-by, too. The feline knew who it was the instant she felt pointy claw-fingers pick her up by the scruff.

"Whaddaya want, Screamer?" Caterwaul muttered without opening her eyes, still feeling mostly drowsy instead of hostile.

"You and I both know you're only loyal to the Autobots," Starscream hissed at Caterwaul, but she merely yawned and glared mildly at him.

"Stop accusing me of that!" she growled, "It's really annoying." The jet-transformer shook the Decepticat in the air, yelling at her, "Admit it!" All Caterwaul did was reply in a bored tone, "Baka," and then bit him.

"Ow!" Starscream yelped and ordered Caterwaul to stop speaking in foreign languages all the time.

Caterwaul replied with a grin, "Yo quiero matar tu con mucho energon-sangre y suffremiendo." Shaking her from side to side, Starscream shouted insults at her, "Spy! Traitor! Weakling!"

Caterwaul just shook her head and called him a baka, a kaigu, stupido, feo, and said he had the IQ of a cartoffelpouffer and was an obnoxious nuisance.

Starscream's insult-skills were _nothing_ compared to Caterwaul and her simple-yet-practical foreign insults. (**If I knew more foreign insults I'd put 'em here.**)

At that point, Starscream just gave up and left, dropping Caterwaul abruptly on the ship's hard surface. The Decepti-cat sat back up and continued insulting him for a few more seconds. She didn't hear him walking away through the ship, and she pressed one ear to the top of the roof to listen.

"That worthless feline is a _spy_, Soundwave!" she heard Starscream insisting furiously, "She _is_!" Caterwaul heard Soundwave's reply, a repitition of the Decepti-cat's own words, "Stop accusing me of that! It's really annoying."

Then the Decepti-cat heard Starscream's "RRRGHHH" of frustration, and his retreating footsteps. VICTORY!

Caterwaul smirked to herself, and waited until she heard Soundwave walking away. Then the feline happily curled up for her much-needed nap.

Starscream still had no proof of her alliance with the Autobots. She was safe.

For now.

**Ok, a bit of a shorter chapter here. Sorry 'bout that.** **Anyway,** **"Yo quiero matar tu con mucho energon-sangre y suffremiendo" is Spanish and means, as I mentioned in the first chapter, "I want to kill you with much energon-blood and suffering." "Stupido" means "stupid," and "feo" means "ugly" and both words are also Spanish. "Cartoffelpouffer" is German for "potato-pancake."**


	27. Chapter 27

**Hello! I know it's been a while; sorry. On with the story! And trying to make Screamer feel guilt!**

Over the next few days, Caterwaul tried extra-hard to act more Decepticon-ish. That way, it'd be even harder for Starscream to prove that she was on the Autobots' side.

She also hassled and aggravated him more than usual, which nobody else minded, since they didn't like him very much.

Caterwaul would sometimes sneak silently up behind Starscream and whisper, "killer," then disappear before the startled 'Con could see her. Other times, Caterwaul would climb onto the ceiling above him, give herself a small cut, and let the energon-blood slowly drip down onto the jet-'Con.

One time, Caterwaul pretended to forget Cliffjumper's name, muttering about it until Starscream shrieked at her, "It's Cliffjumper!" Caterwaul glowered at him and said flatly, "You mean it _was_ Cliffjumper."

Occasionally, the Decepticat would zip past, swiping her tail to hit the X-shaped scar she'd cut on Starscream's chest. Another time, Starscream returned to his room to find it spattered with energon-blood, smeared in claw-shapes.

One day, Caterwaul followed him around in her clouded-leopard-form, looking adorable, her eyes wide, saying in a scary voice, "Regretttttt… Shhhhaaaaammme… Ssssuffferrrrrinnnnngg… Guiiiilllllttt… Aaaaagonnnnnyyy… Deeeaaaaatttthhhhh…"

One day, he finally snapped. Caterwaul had kept sniffing at him and wrinkling her nose in apparent disgust, until Starscream burst out, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing," Caterwaul had replied casually, then whispered darkly, "It's just that… you still smell of blood." Then her fur had bristled and she'd begun shuddering.

Starscream had stared at her, thoroughly creeped out, until he had realized where he was standing. The exact spot where he had murdered Cliffjumper.

"Stop it!" He screeched, which made all of the other Decepticons in the room stare at him in surprise. "This pest keeps tormenting me!" he justified himself to the others, "Reminding me over and over that I killed that red Autobot! Cliffjumper!"

One of the Vehicon drones looked up and mentioned, "Oh yeah; I remember when that happened! That Autobot put up a good fight! I couldn't _believe_ how much energon-blood there was."

Starscream recoiled slightly at this. After a pause, Caterwaul asked him solemnly, "Do you regret it?" There was no accusation in her voice this time, but an earnest, almost gentle seriousness.

"N-no," Starscream retorted uncertainly. He turned away to see Breakdown staring at him with a hint of distain. The blue Decepticon scoffed, "Well, if you don't regret it, then it shouldn't bother you if Caterwaul mentions it."

"Yes, Starscream," Knockout added, "Why make such a big deal out of something you obviously enjoyed?" "Oh yeah," another Vehicon drone added, "Starscream _did_ enjoy it. He was smirking as the Autobot died."

Caterwaul clenched her teeth with a faint scraping sound. Confused and infuriated, Starscream lashed out at her with his dagger-like fingers. The Caterwaul leapt to one side, and Starscream's claws struck into the floor as the feline whipped up her tail blades.

Everything froze for a second as Starscream stopped dead, Caterwaul pointing her lethal tail-blades directly at his vulnerable spark-chamber, less than an inch away.

She could do it. There was nothing in her way. She could kill him and take revenge for Cliffjumper's murder. But no.

After a moment, Caterwaul slowly, deliberately, lowered her tail-blades, broke eye contact, and stepped away. She left silently, leaving her foe in defeat.

And maybe…just _maybe_… the faintest, tiniest posible trace… of guilt.

But maybe not.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hiii! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Thanks for the nice reviews!**

Caterwaul sighed to herself. From what she could see, Starscream felt little-to-no guilt for what he'd done to Cliffjumper. If Starscream _had_ regretted his actions, the Decepti-cat would've gone easier on him.

She tried to be as fair as possible when dealing with her designated targets. If they had killed someone by accident and then truly regretted it, Caterwaul would remind them of what they'd done, but not cruelly.

If, however, the killer had murdered purposely, had felt no regret or guilt, and even _enjoyed_ what they'd done, Caterwaul treated them far more harshly. That was her self-appointed job, and she took it very seriously.

After the recent altercation, Caterwaul kept her claws and tail-blades well-sharpened. Just in case. And Starscream avoided her after that.

Marvelous.

Caterwaul decided (even though she still hated Starscream) to bother him less, at least for a while. Which was easy, because the jet-Transformer spent a lot of time in his room and away from her and everyone.

The less they saw of the jet, the more rumors the 'Cons came up with. Maybe he'd gone insane, maybe he was plotting revenge, maybe he died.

Practically everyone preferred the last idea, but were too scared to go and check to see if it were true. Breakdown offered to check, but Caterwaul assured him it was fine.

One day, Caterwaul was resting on top of the ship's roof, relaxing after a skirmish with the Autobots. The Decepticons had gotten a decent amount of energon, Caterwaul had relayed some new information to the Autobots, and all was good.

Just then, she heard a familiar transforming-noise behind her. The feline spun around just in time to see her least-favorite Decepticon, flying towards her in jet-mode.

Caterwaul dodged out of the way, startled by the sudden attack but already preparing herself to fight. The Decepti-cat's enemy tore past her, turned around, and transformed, laughing nastily.

"Leave me alone, Starscream!" Caterwaul snarled, and crouched down in cat-mode, tail-blades lashing in warning.

That's when she noticed that one of his hands was newly equipped with claws; talons at least an extra foot long, and dangerously sharp at the end.

'He's gone crazy!' Caterwaul thought as the Decepticon clashed the claws at her face, missing by inches, and Caterwaul raked his hand with her own claws. Then swung up her tail to block the vicious daggers and push them away.

"Let's see if that old trick will work a 2nd time!" Starscream cackled as he swung his new talons towards Caterwaul again, aiming for the feline's stomach as she reared up. Caterwaul ducked and sprang backwards, and the deadly talons just grazed her shoulder.

"I guess you've gotten over your _almost_-guilt, huh?" she snarled at him, leaping aside to avoid another deathblow. Starscream transformed back into a jet, firing his powerful missiles at Caterwaul.

Even at her most alert and energetic, Caterwaul had nothing to duck behind or anywhere to go. She couldn't dodge _every_ blast!

One grazed her side, and another hit her back, causing energon-blood to spurt out. Another shot glanced off of her shoulder, knocking her off balance.

Off balance right by the edge of a ship many miles above the earth.

**OOHH! Cliffhanger! I hope it wasn't too cheesy. What'd ya think?**


	29. Chapter 29

**CrazyCatGirl: AAAAA! OH MY GOODNESS! SO SORRY! HAVEN'T UPDATED! IN LONG TIME! AAAAA! *_runs away shrieking_* Caterwaul: Uh-huh. Sorry 'bout that. CrazyCatGirl's been completely overloaded with school projects and is now… *_looks around to find CrazyCatGirl_* Umm, she's gnawing on her arm and plotting imaginary revenge on math teachers. CrazyCatGirl: Frog-doughnuts! The salty rose bushes need asphalt! AAA! Caterwaul: Yyyyeah. Anyway… When last we left our hero (me)...**

Lashing out with all four sets of claws, Caterwaul tried desperately to grab something, _any_thing to save herself! She scraped against the side of the gigantic ship and sank her three tail-tip blades into it with a screeching noise.

Inside the ship, Breakdown looked up in surprise; three pointed spikes were driven into his room's wall from outside the ship! He'd heard some sort of commotion earlier, but now there was a terrible shrieking sound coming from outside.

What was going on?

Twisting herself around, Caterwaul managed to get herself upright, digging all four sets of caws into the ship's exterior wall. Less than two seconds later, a cannon-blast collided with the metal of the ship, inches from Caterwaul's head.

"Hey!" she yelled at Starscream, trying to sound as if everything was normal, "Do you mind? That's getting a bit irritating!"

The jet responded with another blast, which widened up the hole the previous blast had made in the ship's wall near Caterwaul's hands. And then another, as if he were taunting her.

"HEY!" Caterwaul shouted, "Anybody planning on helping me out here?" She was still trying to look calm, even though she was terrified. The Decepticat pulled herself upwards, with her hands sticking into the ragged gap in an attempt to hold on better.

She stuck her face into it, trying to see if she could squirm inside. No good, it was too small! But then she brightened up. Breakdown!

"Caterwaul?" the blue Decepticon exclaimed in shock. What in the universe was she doing out there? She looked desperate to get back into the ship, and Breakdown rushed to the torn wall to help her.

"Help!" Caterwaul pleaded, "Starscream's going t-" She couldn't finish, since her enemy's large claw-hand hands had just grabbed her throat from behind her.

A hissing noise came from the feline's mouth, half gasp and half snarl. 'He's going to pull me right off the ship!' Caterwaul thought in a panic and dug three sets of claws deeper into the ship.

Caterwaul shoved one arm into the gash in the ship, and her friend grabbed her hand, trying to pull her away from Starscream and the miles of empty sky.

With a scraping sound, Caterwaul's claws were ripped away from the ship, and still holding shreds of metal from it. Her arm was nearly pulled _off_ as Starscream tore her away from Breakdown and the ship.

Frantically, as Caterwaul felt her enemy's clawed hand opening to drop her, she swung up her tail, which wrapped around his arm and caused Caterwaul to dangle there.

The overall result would have looked hilarious, because it made Caterwaul look like a giant possum hanging from Starscream's scrawny arm.

But the jet-Decepticon grabbed her tail and, with a large amount of pain from her tail-blades, yanked Caterwaul's tail off of his arm.

And dropped her.

**Caterwaul****: Again! A cliffhanger!** **CrazyCatGirl****: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in such a long time! AAA! ***_**runs away again**_*** ****Caterwaul****: at least she's speaking in complete sentences again. ****CrazyCatGirl****: Toenails! Cardboard! The coming cheese-people! ****Caterwaul****: …Or not. **


	30. Chapter 30

**Hi th– _Leggo that straw! Bad girl!_ – sorry about that; our– _no! Stop it!_ – our ferret is trying to attack the garbage can and sh- _get out of there!_- and she is a bit disruptive- _No soda-cups for you!_- as I attempt to type this chapter. One moment. *_locks ferret out of the room_* Ah, much better. *_ferret scratches on the door_* Arggg! Before I lose my mind I have a thank-you to award to a marvelous reviewer and story-writer: JazzGirl221. Thanks for reviewin', yer stories are really cool, and - *_scratching continues_* - Gotta go catch my ferret, bye!**

Caterwaul saw Breakdown's horrified face staring out at her helplessly from the ship for a split second. Then she was falling, falling away through the sky with no way to save herself.

"Don't give up!" she shrieked to herself, even as her claws flailed uselessly through the empty air in an attempt to find something to hold onto, "I can't give up! Has to be something I can do!" But no help was in sight as she plummeted through the sky.

Out of the corner of her optic, Caterwaul spotted Starscream in jet-mode, flying toward her, closer and closer. 'What's he doing?' Caterwaul wondered for a second, just before her enemy provided the answer.

A barrage of Starscream's missiles shot towards Caterwaul, who curled up in a ball to minimize damage, but still received nearly every single blast. Energon-blood spiraled through the sky as Caterwaul continued falling, severely wounded. Then, amidst her pain and terror, she thought of a way to save herself.

The Decepticat managed to turn herself around in midair to face Starscream, and opened her mouth as if she were speaking. Curious as to what his seemingly vanquished foe was saying, Starscream flew closer.

Caterwaul mouthed more random gibberish as if she were shouting, although she was actually silently yelling pain-filled threats and insults. Her enemy flew close, closer, closer... Close enough!

Caterwaul uncoiled in an instant, stretching out as far as she could, and lashed out at the jet-Transformer's wing. The feline's claws sank into the metal instantly, and she clung on tight, curling up again as more energon-blood seeped from her own injuries.

Startled and furious at being tricked, Starscream accelerated backwards, with Caterwaul still desperately clutching his wing tip.

The Decepticat clenched her teeth as every movement caused more energon-blood to ooze from her wounds, and she transformed to clouded leopard-mode. The fur and skin covering her wounds prevented more energon-blood from escaping, but it didn't halt the pain or fear that was slowly overwhelming her.

Starscream was doing loops and spirals through the sky in an attempt to throw Caterwaul off, but the Decepticat only clung on harder, her claws digging deeper into the jet's wing tip.

Trying harder and harder to rid himself of the feline, Starscream hadn't paid attention to where he was flying. But Caterwaul noticed where they were heading: dangerously close to a tall plateau in the desert.

If Starscream kept spinning around so recklessly, they'd _both_ crash into the rock formation! Caterwaul could see that the plateau's sides were steep, but the edges were round. If she could get close enough, she might be able to make it…

Unlatching her claws from Starscream's wing, Caterwaul leaped at the rocky cliff edge when she was a couple yards away. The impact dazed her, and she tumbled down the steep cliff in a flurry of claws and fur and smeared energon-blood.

Finally…Finally, she stopped falling as she reached the foot of the tall plateau. She would have been relieved. But she was too exhausted to notice.

**Oh no! 1 Is it too late for Caterwaul? 2 Will she survive? 3 Is this the end? 1 No, 2 yes, and 3 of course not! I'm not done with this story yet! Please review, and read JazzGirl221's stories. They're grrrreat! (Sorry, couldn't help saying that.)**


	31. Chapter 31

**Hallooo! How is you? On with the chapter!**

Barely conscious, Caterwaul lay at the foot of the tall plateau's ragged side. Her sight was blurry, and everything sounded muffled, but she could easily feel the acute pain that laced her body, which prickled every time she moved.

There was a faint noise coming from the sky, and Caterwaul saw something gray-ish and pointy flying toward her. She knew it was bad, there was something bad, it was someone bad, but she couldn't remember what exactly; her mind was too cloudy.

There were noises coming from the flying thing now, and suddenly, there were small things coming at her, but so fast! The small things flew toward Caterwaul, and they collided with her, detonating into light fire and agony, causing her to scream in agony.

"Wait," she thought hazily, "Scream, scream, St- _Starscream!_" Caterwaul realized what was happening, but was too exhausted and in pain to move, and there were explosions and her vision was getting foggier and she couldn't hear and everything hurt!

The sky seemed to be raining missiles at her. Caterwaul shut her optics, noting blearily how much she preferred real rain; it might soothe her wounds. There was more light now, off to the side, but it wasn't orange like the missile explosions. It was greenish.

The barrage of missiles halted as a rumbling noise became audible to Caterwaul's ears; the noise seemed to be coming from the greenish light, which vanished seconds later. Caterwaul managed to open her optics a slit, although everything was blurry and her thinking felt foggy.

There was lots of noise and the ground seemed to be moving and thumping. Caterwaul vaguely saw a huge, blue-ish shape near her. There was a smudge of orange near the top of the shape, which was moving away now, and seemed to be yelling.

Caterwaul recognized the voice and tried to call out her friend's name, but couldn't when she felt something spilling out of her mouth. The feline opened her jaws, and blue liquid trickled out, seeping out onto the dirt by her head.

Caterwaul moved her head away from the blue liquid, and felt her head cloud with sudden, dull pain as she tried to call again, "Br- ack. Br-ek-dwwn." More liquid, energon-blood she realized, was streaming from her mouth, making speech difficult.

The large blue shape was moving around nearby a smaller, red blur. There were loud, indistinct noises and flashes of fiery light. A scrawny gray shape was shrieking and moving away from them, and then it jumped up and fled through the sky.

Caterwaul saw the red and blue shapes approaching her and she could just remember their identities in the back of her mind. The smaller, red one leaned toward her, then said something to the large blue one in a defeated voice.

The blue one, Breakdown, responded stubbornly, "Try!" Knockout crouched down near Caterwaul, who blinked, tried to speak, and let out a cough, spattering the ground with more energon-blood. The red Decepticon shook his head grimly and stood back up.

Caterwaul saw the two speaking with one another, but couldn't tell what they were saying. Everything felt so… distant. So blurry and muffled and dark. When she felt something touch her side, she flinched, and her pain rebounded.

The Decepti-cat felt someone lift her up, and she could hear a noise, no, a voice, saying something. It sounded upset, and Caterwaul shifted her optics upwards to see the speaker's orange face above her.

Caterwaul's mind cleared a bit, and she recognized Breakdown, who kept asking where she was the most hurt. She remembered the lyrics of a song that she'd recorded to listen to, and replayed them, since she couldn't speak.

"Broken up, deep inside… I'm torn into pieces," came some of the words from 'Behind these Hazel Eyes.' Caterwaul quivered as she felt hard dirt and rock underneath her again, and then heard Breakdown transforming nearby.

Someone else placed Caterwaul inside the blue Decepticon's vehicle-form with a defeated sigh. Caterwaul whimpered as the terrain caused Breakdown's vehicle-form to jump and lurch as it moved.

"Hurts," she whispered faintly, and drifted out of consciousness, just barely hearing her friend's apologetic reply.

Breakdown grew more worried at Caterwaul's silence. He couldn't tell exactly how badly she was hurt, since the feline's fur covered up her injuries. Knockout didn't have the supplies needed to repair the extensive damage, and had said that it was probably too late for Caterwaul by now.

Breakdown refused to believe that. But there was little hope to go on. He'd seen her beautiful golden eyes growing dimmer, and could feel more of her energon-blood seeping out onto his interior.

He still wouldn't let himself give up on her. If the Decepticon medic couldn't help, then maybe the Autobot medic could.


	32. Chapter 32

**Hi again! Thanks, everybody, for all your great reviews! To KillingKathy: Thanks for the advice, it's a good idea, but I'm too lazy to go fix my earlier chapters right now. And I present Starscream like that because I hate 'im for killing Cliffjumper. Although, in my opinion, he sorta partially redeemed himself when he spared Arcee's life. Anywho! On with zee story of which I is writin'!**

"Where… 'rrh we… goin'?" Caterwaul rasped from Breakdown's backseat, slowly inching toward full consciousness.

"I'm taking you to the Autobots," her friend replied, sounding worried, "Their medic should be able to save- to repair you. How are you managing?"

Caterwaul let out a faint hiss of pain, and replayed part of a song she'd recorded, "I'm barely _hangin'_ onnn…" (**from** '**Behind These Hazel Eyes'**) Her whole body felt as if it were being slowly torn apart.

"Just hang on a little longer, Caterwaul," Breakdown told her. It was supposed to seem like an order, but it sounded more like an entreaty.

Caterwaul smiled faintly at her friend's concern as she drifted out of consciousness again. The Decepti-cat could feel herself slipping farther and farther away every time that she closed her optics. She was so tired…

A few minutes later, Breakdown arrived at the section of desert that was nearest the human-town that the Autobots were known for protecting. If he could get the attention of the 'Bots, maybe they'd-…

The blue Decepticon broke off his train of thought when he saw four vehicles approaching. There was a semi-truck, a motorcycle, a yellow sports car, and Breakdown's old rival, the huge, green S.U.V.

Breakdown drove faster, into plain sight of the Autobot team, then stopped. He couldn't transform with Caterwaul inside, so he had to open one back door and awkwardly lean to one side. The barely conscious feline slithered out onto the ground in a broken heap.

Breakdown transformed and carefully picked up his limp friend in his arms, hoping that the Autobots wouldn't think he was trying to trick them, and attack. He knew Caterwaul would _not_ be able to survive another assault.

The four Autobots transformed, staring incredulously at Breakdown and the wounded Decepti-cat in his arms. To his amazement and relief, none pointed any weapons at him, though Bulkhead still looked willing to fight.

"Listen," Breakdown began, stepping forward, "Caterwaul's been hurt by Starscream, and…" Before he could finish, cannon fire erupted along the desert earth, and the jet-Transformer himself rocketed past.

Starscream, in jet-mode, crashed into Breakdown, sending Caterwaul's limp body flying. The Decepti-cat landed on the dusty ground with a painful, sickening "thump," and Breakdown winced at the sound.

Starscream transformed and picked Caterwaul up in one pointed hand. He held the motionless feline in front of him, daring the Autobots to shoot. To Breakdown's surprise, they looked not only shocked at the dirty trick, but also dismayed.

As if… as if they didn't want any harm coming to the Decepticon femme, Breakdown realized. Why? Had Starscream been right for once, that Caterwaul was really on the Autobots' side?

Caterwaul opened her optics and dimly realized that someone was holding her roughly by the scruff of her neck. Starscream was the only person to do that, and Caterwaul's spark sank with dread.

Noticing that Caterwaul was awake, Starscream demanded maliciously, "Ready to finally admit whose side you're on, traitor? We all know that you're an Autobot, and not a loyal Decepticon!"

The Decepti-cat managed a half-snarl, still fatigued, "I am a Decepticon… not an Autobot… But I never said… that I wasn't on… their side." Caterwaul glanced up and saw Breakdown's stricken expression, and she felt a stab of anguished regret as she thought of how betrayed her friend must feel.

She whacked Starscream's arm with her hind claws, having no energy for anything else. The femme's resolve had wilted when she saw her friend's pained expression, and she gave in to the wave of exhaustion that accompanied her grief.

But, Caterwaul's action had provided enough of a diversion to distract Starscream, who Breakdown punched in the back of the head. The gray Decepticon collapsed to the ground, releasing the unconscious feline.

Breakdown picked up Caterwaul, whose body was crumpled, and whose silvery fur was ragged and smudged with dirt. Her glowing golden optics were dull and half-open, and a trickle of energon-blood crept from her open jaws.

Breakdown knew he could do it. He could kill the femme, who he now knew to be a spy for the Autobots. He had nothing to lose, and would most likely be rewarded by Megatron for eliminating the threat. She wouldn't know what hit her, he reasoned. He could do it.

…So why _couldn't_ he?

Breakdown slowly turned toward the Autobots, Caterwaul held gently in his arms, and asked, "Please help her."


	33. Chapter 33

**Hi! Thanks for so many awesome reviews, they're so muchly much appreciated! Mucho de appreciated-o. Heh heh, I dunno how to say 'appreciated' in Spanish. Anywho, onwards with the chapter! Sorry, but this one ain't gonna be that exciting, just reflective-ish.**

"Caterwaul!" "Don't give up!" "C'mon, you can make it…" "Don't go offline!"

The words made no sense to Caterwaul. She could hear and understand them, but the voices were unfamiliar. Why were they shouting?

Caterwaul couldn't feel anything. It was as if she were floating, and nothing was there, but it was dark and there were voices yelling at her. They would say something, and she would hear it, but she'd forget it a second later.

She wanted to know what was going on, and tried to open her optics. But they felt so heavy, and she was so tired. She knew that she wasn't supposed to sleep. That would be bad, somehow. What was bad? Oh yeah, falling asleep.

Why wasn't she allowed to sleep, she wondered. Why was that going to be bad? What would be worse? Similar to sleep, but worse... Death.

Death? Caterwaul's mind sped up at the thought. No, she didn't want to die. There was too much death already. And she had to help avenge the deaths. She couldn't do anything if she was dead. Then someone would have to avenge _her_. And that'd stink for them.

If she was going to die… Caterwaul pushed the thought away tiredly, but it drifted back. If she died, who would find her killer? How would they know who… Oh, right. That special program.

Caterwaul remembered that there were others in the universe like her. They found killers and made them suffer. They found the murderers though a special program that stretched across space.

Whenever a Cybertronian went offline, their last memories transmitted to… to… What was it? Caterwaul couldn't remember. But when she received a transmission, she had to… had to find who caused the death. And remind them… Make them know what they'd done…. That it was wrong. Wrong to kill.

Caterwaul didn't ever kill. That would make her as bad as the murderers she tracked and punished. Sometimes, they felt bad. She remembered several Autobots who had killed Decepticons accidentally. They'd felt so horrible and guilty. Caterwaul respected them for that. Some Decepticons felt guilty when they killed. That was good.

But some didn't. Some reveled in it, gloated, bragged about extinguishing a person's spark. Caterwaul hated them. One was Starscream. Caterwaul could NOT let him win. She'd survived attempted-murder before. But that'd been easy. It'd been an explosion. A planned rockslide. An ambush. Et cetera. But nothing like this…

Oh. The persons around her were still shouting. Caterwaul hadn't noticed. They sounded upset. Would they go torture Starscream for her? After she was gone…?

'_NO!_' Caterwaul thought, '_they won't have to. I won't die. I mustn't. I still have deaths to avenge. My name won't be added to the list of deaths. I have to stay alive._'

She wondered how she could. How could she defeat dying? Caterwaul tried to think of death as an enemy to fight. To attack and fight and defeat and then win against. Sort of like the pain. She hadn't noticed it in a while. But now it was everywhere.

'_Why_?' Caterwaul thought, '_Why do I have to live…? It hurts. Will anyone miss me?_' There was someone she remembered who she thought might miss her. Breakdown. He cared. He really cared; he had tried to save her. Maybe he was still trying. And she couldn't let him down. She had to fight.

Caterwaul's claws twitched at the thought of fighting. She had to fight. She had to fight and had to WIN!

Caterwaul felt her teeth scraping together. The movement hurt, but so did everything else! The Decepti-cat's jaws opened in a silent scream; she was too exhausted to make any sound.

Caterwaul twisted her head around, as if she could pull away from the pain that was everywhere. Her pointed teeth dug into something hard, and she clamped down on it, then pulled back.

There was a screeching noise, which made her cringe, but the metal material in her mouth caused Caterwaul to instinctively swallow. Part of her moved a little. Part of her armor, circuitry, and insides. It moved, and some of the pain flashed, then eased slightly. If she could still feel pain, she was still alive! That was good!

But it huuuuuurrrrt! Caterwaul twisted around again, her jaws opening as the pain forced a squeak out of her throat. '_Well that was dramatic!_' she thought to herself sarcastically. She snapped her mouth shut, and the impact jarred her whole body.

How had she made the pain go away earlier? _'Oh yeah_,' Caterwaul thought, '_I ate something. Maybe I should do that again._' The feline took a snap at whatever she was on top of. It was all flat and smooth, but felt sticky and smelled of energon-blood.

AS Caterwaul forced the metal down her throat, she managed to open her eyes. Oh. She'd munched part of a metal table. Oh, well; it tasted fine. But now she was all light-headed again.

'_Riiight_,' Caterwaul thought hazily, '_I have too much mass and not enough energon in me. Gotta get rid of stuff…_' She convulsed at the continuing, but duller, waves of pain, and retched up a glob of metal goo.

She actually felt a little better! And aware enough to notice what was going on as she disgorged more and more metal. She was on an operating table with bite-marks in it. There were Cybertronians standing around her. She was bleeding, but less than before. Therefore, it was good. …Somehow.

Where was she? Where was Breakdown? Caterwaul wasn't certain, but at least she wasn't dying anymore. That was most certainly a very good thing. Caterwaul couldn't think very clearly, but everything seemed to be OK-ish now.

The Decepti-cat continued to retch up more metal gunk, which was tiring. Could she go to sleep now? She thought that maybe now it was OK to do that. But she had to be sure. Could she go to sleep?

"Yes," a voice answered. '_Oh_,' Caterwaul realized, '_I mumbled that out loud. Oh well_.' She felt a lot better now. And now she was allowed to sleep and recharge without it being something bad. But did the voice-persons know that? They'd been upset earlier.

'_I'm gonna be OK_,' Caterwaul thought, and mumbled to whoever was near her, "Ahm… gnnuh… byo-cay." That hadn't come out right, but she didn't care. She could go to sleep now. Everything would be OK.

And she knew that she would wake up again.

**Wow! This is almost TWICE the length of an average chapter I write! I hope the little fragments of explanations and stuff made it a little more interesting. Hope it wasn't too boring or cheesy. I like cheese, but not in my chapters too much.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Hallooooo! Thanks for the nice reviews ya gave me! As I mentioned in the previous chappy-ter, I appreciate it soooo very muchly much indeed! To Knockout'sFanGirl: Don't worry, she does get better. Cool new username by the way! To TransFreak101: Thanks fer da encouragement. And I'm considering having Breakdown switch sides _eventually_, so he can be with Ca- Eep! I nearly gave it away! Oh wait, since you've already read it, I sorta _have_ given it away. Ah well. **

Caterwaul later found out that a human named June had assisted Ratchet in repairing her. Being smaller than the Autobots, the woman had been able to help with the most delicate internal injuries. Which there were many of.

Caterwaul found out that the woman was actually related to the human boy, Jack, which was interesting news. The lady had been rather nervous operating on a Decepticon, and Caterwaul thanked her for her assistance.

Everyone had been shocked at the sight of Caterwaul's wounds. They'd doubted if she would survive, and had been amazed when she pulled through. Caterwaul appreciated all of the help they gave (**The way I appreciate all the wonderful reviews you all give!**).

A couple days after the incident, Ratchet came to Caterwaul with news. He'd wanted to wait until she was recovered enough to deal with it.

"Caterwaul," he told her, "You have severely injured your lower spine and the sensors there. Too much pressure on them will be very painful. Because of this, it will be very difficult, or even impossible, for you to stand or walk on your hind legs ever again."

Caterwaul was stunned. True, she was used to walking on all four limbs, and didn't mind it, but… To not even be able to stand up to her full height again? Many Cybertronians looked down on her already for her (most of the time) diminutive size.

"I'll… I'll be fine," she assured Ratchet, "I don't usually walk on only my hind legs, anyway. I'll still be able to get around on four legs, right?"

Ratchet nodded, and the feline sighed in relief. She could deal with that.

Later, the human kids came to visit Caterwaul in her recovery room, and Miko constantly begged her for exciting stories about the Decepticons. In return, Caterwaul asked the girl to tell her what'd happened in the desert after the battle with Starscream.

"Well," the perky human began, "Everyone was really worried about you, and thought that you might die. But, I mean, obviously you didn't! It was kinda weird when you started eating the operating table and then puking."

The Decepti-cat rolled her optics. "Sorry about the table. Anyway, what happened right after the battle? You know," Caterwaul added, "to Starscream and Breakdown?"

Miko told her, "That blue Decepticon punched Screamer right on the back of the head! It was so cool; I was watching the whole thing from behind Bulkhead."

The human continued excitedly, "So then, Starscream was out cold, and Breakdown picked you up. You were limp and there was energon all over you, and he carried you to the Autobots and asked if they'd help you. They promised to, and then Breakdown left. It was weird how he didn't even try to start a fight or anything."

Caterwaul smiled softly to herself. She barely noticed when Miko left, muttering about something evil called "homework."

The Decepti-cat curled up to rest, still thinking about her friend. She hoped he knew that she was ok. She planned on visiting him as soon as possible. …Just to make sure that he knew she was alright, the Decepti-cat told herself. _That_ was the reason.

But her spark pulsed faster at the thought of her friend.

**Hee hee! :3 (smirking kitty face) Please continue giving of your wonderful reviews!**


	35. Chapter 35

**Hello. Sorry I didn't update sooner; my family was at a convention for Jehovah's Witnesses. We also recently found out that an elderly friend of ours died, and are sad. I dedicate this chapter to her. Please enjoy it.**

Over the next few days, Caterwaul slowly recovered her strength and energy. All the while, she wondered where she would go after her healing was complete.

The Decepti-cat wanted to return to the Decepticon ship, but knew that it could be dangerous. What if Breakdown had told everyone what he'd found out about her? If she returned, she could be captured, tortured, and killed!

But… something made Caterwaul willing to risk it. Maybe Breakdown hadn't told anyone, and Starscream was gone… and Megatron had run out of evil plans… and the other Decepticons didn't want to fight anymore…

Yeah, right, and maybe Unicron would randomly transform into a small, radioactive flying kitten and skip around the galaxies, giving everyone free energon and flower bouquets! Caterwaul shook her head at herself. Still…

One day, while Caterwaul was still recovering, she told Arcee who it was that had killed Cliffjumper, and the feline apologized for forgetting to tell her earlier. The Autobot told Caterwaul that she already knew; she had found out during a battle the previous day.

Arcee looked so angry and sad about what'd happened, that Caterwaul decided to cheer her up. The Decepti-cat described in great detail what she'd done to torture Cliffjumper's murderer. She even mimicked the jet's pained screeching, and Arcee smiled a little.

After over a week, Caterwaul was fully recovered from her ordeal, except of course, for being unable to stand erect on her hind legs. While she was incredibly grateful to the Autobots for saving her and helping her heal, she didn't want to stay with them.

"I'm… going to go back," she told them, "Back to the other Decepticons." She was, after all, a Decepticon, even though she was on the Autobots' side. (**Caterwaul is sorta like "Green Lantern The Animated Series" Razer. Or like "Transformers Armada" Starscream.**)

The Autobots were shocked at this, and a few displeased, but they respected her decision. Caterwaul told them (and herself) that she was going back to continue her spying mission. She didn't mention Breakdown.

Caterwaul thanked the Autobots for everything they'd done, and left. She appreciated how they'd helped her, but didn't feel comfortable with staying there, or joining them. She still had a long time until she was ready to retire from her missions.

Caterwaul set out to find the Decepticons again. Remembering what had happened the last time (becoming exhausted and collapsing in the rain), Caterwaul made sure to take rest-stops every hour or two, so she could recharge.

Along the way, the feline reflected on why she didn't feel at home around the Autobots. For one thing, they acted completely different.

Autobots usually had the habit of being open and generous, worked together pretty well, and discussed stuff. On the other claw, Decepticons tended to be more aggressive and secretive, finding loopholes and acting on their own.

Caterwaul shook off her musings, and continued in her search, not knowing how long it was going to take to find the other 'Cons. Thankfully, she at least knew which direction the ship had been going before.

Eventually, while taking a rest, Caterwaul noticed a gigantic shadow in the distance. High above said-shadow was… the pinecone ship!

**I always call it that, even though I know the ship is called the '_Nemesis_.' It looks like one of those mini pinecone's caterpillars inside drag around. Not cocoons… Anyone know what those things are actually called? Whoops, off topic here. Thanks for reading and leaving such great reviews everybody!**


	36. Chapter 36

**HI! Thanks to you ALL for so many awesome reviews! I just noticed I haven't done any disclaimer thingy recently, so here it be: I doesn't own da Transformers except fer Caterwaul. (I enjoy using bad grammar though. Mwa haha ha! Take THAT, education!) Please enjoy this chappy-ter! **

"The ship!" Caterwaul rejoiced, then covered her mouth in case any of the other 'Cons were nearby. She wasn't sure what they'd do once they found her. She decided to wait a bit before allowing them to see her.

But, in any case, she had to get to that ship! Maybe she could hide on the roof and listen in to see what had been going on in her absence. But how to get there…?

'Hmm…' Caterwaul thought, 'If only I had a rocket-pack or somethhh…' Her thought trailed off as an idea popped into her head, and she grinned.

Using her sharp, center tail-blade, the Decepti-cat made a small cut on her front right leg. This caused a few drops of energon-blood to trickle out, and Caterwaul slowly moved her leg forward.

This made a small, thin trail of energon-blood form on the dry desert ground. She made another small cut, on her left front leg this time, and let it drip onto one end of the trail, forming a tiny puddle.

Caterwaul repeated the process until there was a long trail of energon-blood, and a decent sized puddle of it at one end. When she decided that it was good enough, Caterwaul looked around for a big, flat sheet of rock.

She couldn't find a big enough one, so she retched up a large amount of metal. This she smushed into a flattish blob, about 3 feet across, and roughly circular shaped.

After it had hardened, the feline placed smaller stones around the puddle of energon-blood in a circle, then placed the platform of metal on top of them.

Afterwards, Caterwaul sat atop the metal slab… and realized that she didn't know how to ignite the energon-blood trail. Phooey.

She tried smacking her tail against a rock to hopefully produce a flame, like in those human movies about 'camping.' No good.

She remembered that something small and light would go on fire if exposed to enough direct heat and sun. She pulled out a small tuft of fur and placed it on the ground. Oh wait. She had no magnifying glass. ARRRGHH!

By then, the Decepticon ship had moved, and Caterwaul had to run as fast as she could (while dragging the metal slab) to catch up. She managed to run a little ahead of it, so it'd take a bit longer for the ship to pass by her.

Caterwaul was, by now, getting tired. She suddenly remembered another thing that produced fire; metal against metal! She tested it just in case, by flicking one claw against her leg. It sparked! WOOHOO!

The Decepti-cat ran a bit farther, then made another energon-blood trail and puddle. This made her feel a bit drained, as well as still tired, which was irritating. Then she had to set up more rocks in a circle over the puddle again.

Finally, Caterwaul sat on the flat metal platform, waiting for the Decepticon ship to float into perfect position. Being very experienced in this, she was able to do this aiming quite accurately.

When the ship was in range, Caterwaul flicked her claws above the start of the energon-blood trail. The claws sparked slightly, igniting the trail. Caterwaul curled up as much as she could as the fire reached the puddle of energon-blood under her metal seat.

There was a marvelous explosion, which propelled her upwards and toward the Decepticon ship.

As she soared upwards, Caterwaul mentally cheered, 'I'm a geniuusssss!'

**Sorry not much actually happened here. I hope ya liked it anywho and weren't tooooo bored.**


	37. Chapter 37

**Hahaha, thank you everyone for so many great reviews! Sorry I haven't updated for a while; I've been on vacation with my sis (She is FireFlare) and our grandparents, with no computer to update upon. But now I am back! To Knockout'sFanGirl: I has updated! Yay! To Lynn Jones: Thanks! To Iceshadow911247: Great advice! (No, not self injury- well, sort of, I guess, but not the bad kind!) And no one should evah nag-eth thee! To TransFanFreak101: Yes it does. And thanks! To Indigo Ninja: Wow, that's many reviews! Many thanks! Is your picture/avatar/thingie Starscream? Well drawn. To Guest: Thanks! Sorry, no Screamer-memory-loss. And, maaayyyybe… :3 Now for the story!**

Apparently, energon-blood was even more explosive than Caterwaul had at first thought. She'd been worried that the blast wouldn't get her far up enough to reach the ship. Instead, she flew up higher than the ship, by several yards.

Aaaaaannnddd now she was falling. Again. This caused a bit of freaking out on Caterwaul's part, because she was now semi-traumatized of falling.

(She was also semi-traumatized by small rock-caves that sink into the ground, floors that open up to reveal giant spikes beneath a person, and a few other methods that her past enemies had attempted to use to try to kill her before. They were all in prison or something now.)

As Caterwaul felt herself falling again, she stretched out her claws and tail, managing to snag one pointy edge of the ship with one back paw. Dangling upside down was rather scary, not to mention uncomfortable, so Caterwaul pulled herself all the way onto the ship and away from the edge.

"That's the third time I've been falling to my doom and had to cling to some big pointy flying thing to save myself," the Decepti-cat muttered to herself, feeling very déjà vu-ish. (**I honestly dunno what the other time was; you'd have to ask Caterwaul.**)

The feline stalked along the roof of the ship, looking for the door that led inside. She found it, but the thing was locked, and she didn't think that breaking it would be a good way to let everyone know she was there.

Maybe there'd be a window that'd been recently installed… Nope. Nada. Nothin'. Zilch. Zero. Zip. Phooey! Caterwaul tried along the side of the ship, and managed to find the large, gaping tear in the ship's outer armor that her tail had made during the Screamer-fight.

Caterwaul remembered where the gash was located. It opened up a wall in Breakdown's room. The Decepti-cat felt her spark jump and her fur fluff up involuntarily. She told herself it was because of how high up she was.

She inched closer to investigate the gash in the ship-wall. It hadn't been closed up, and the wind made a funny noise as it whooshed through the ragged gap. On and around it, Caterwaul could still see her claw-marks, which Breakdown could've been easily covered up and obscured, along with the opening. …But he hadn't.

Caterwaul noticed, looking through the gap, that Breakdown was in his room, recharging, and she felt her fur going all fluffed-up again. The Decepti-cat shook her head, which made her dizzy at this height, and scrambled back to the ship's roof.

There. Much better. Her spark halted it's unexpectedly rapid pulsating and went back to normal. Which was good. …But Caterwaul found that she sort of liked the feeling it'd had.

Just then, her keen sense of hearing picked up a faint noise, and Caterwaul spun around. Something long and pointy vanished over the other side of the ship, and Caterwaul bristled, her claws extending.

The feline stalked toward the unknown thing, and noticed that the roof-door was no longer locked. Hm. So the thing had come from inside of the ship. Interesting, but very worrisome. The lousy thing could be armed.

An especially loud scraping noise caught her attention, and Caterwaul spotted a torn fragment of metal being tossed onto the roof from that direction. The feline snarled to herself; did the thing really think that she'd fall for that cliché sort of distraction-trick?

"Come out," she growled loudly. No response. But the roof-door was still open. Maybe Caterwaul could get inside and trap the _thing_ outside! But she'd have to be very careful; the _thing_ could ambush her. (She couldn't think of anything else to call it at that point, except "the thing.")

Caterwaul slowly crept backwards toward the roof-door, keeping an optic out for any movement. But as she turned her head, there was a sudden flash of movement, just off to the side.

The Decepti-cat whipped her head around to look, and she caught a brief glimpse of the dark, pointy _thing_ as it fired a purple blast from it's gun. It had horns and narrow, purple optics. And lots of long pointy things for legs.

As Caterwaul fell to the floor and her consciousness blurred, she thought she recognized the thing. It was a female 'Con. A very, very bad one.

**Can ya' guess who da eeeeevil 'Con is? I hate 'er muchly much indeed. Can ya' guess who it be? (Caterwaul lives, of course, don't worry.)**


	38. Chapter 38

**Halllooooo! I bring news! Those readers (and wonderful reviewers) who guessed 'Arachnid' were correct! Oh, how I loathe that eeeeevilllll spider-'Con. To Knockout'sFanGirl: Thanks! Wow, 'bloody fantastic'? That's even better than normal-fantastic! Wow, thanks fer them energon-cubes! To Lalalalalalalala: Ok, ok, I pick you! I see your hand! Oh, wait, that'd be weird if I could, 'cause I dunno who you is! but I'm sure you're right! To Iceshadow911247: Oooh, explode-y guns! Cool! And… (_Caterwaul: *appears* SILENCE! *whacks me over the head*_) …Ow. Well apparently, you were right; she is. (_*gets whacked over the head again*_) And very much so at that. To TransFanFreak101: Yup. I is you fwiend? Yeh, her is creepy indeed. To Guest: It certainly is. Thank you. I shall! And now, on with the story!**

Caterwaul listened closely to the words she could hear. She had been dragged through the ship, and now her 'captor,' that stinking Arachnid, had dropped her at Megatron's oversized pointy feet. Caterwaul held back a growl.

The Decepti-cat kept her optics closed, allowing the other two Decepticons to think that she was unconscious. It was hard to stay limp, sprawled out on the floor, when she really just wanted to leap up and tear the spidery 'Con apart, limb by scrawny limb.

Caterwaul heard Megatron's voice, angry, "I _told_ you, Eh-_rack_-nid, that if Caterwaul came back, no one was to harm her! She could have valuable information about the Autobots who repaired her, did you ever think of that?!"

Caterwaul kept her smirk hidden.

"But my lord Megatron," the lousy 'Con begged, practically _oozing_ that annoying 'lackey' vibe, "The creature was an intruder. How was I supposed to know that it was this 'Caterwaul'?"

The feline almost snarled at her, but kept still.

"Besides," the spider/bug-like 'Con reasoned, "Perhaps she switched sides, and the Autobots have sent her to spy!"

Caterwaul tensed up.

"Of course not!" Megatron retorted, "The Autobots are so obsessed with honor, that I doubt they even know what a spy is!"

Caterwaul held in a sigh of relief. Surely the lousy bug-like 'Con would stop now.

"You act as if this thing, this _animal_, was one of the best fighters on your team!" the lousy bug-'Con scoffed, "She was with the 'Bots for a while, and could have just switched sides!"

'I will _hurt_ you,' Caterwaul thought tensely, 'I will hurt you _soooo badly_.'

"No," Megatron snapped at Arachnid, "Breakdown told us that even with the Autobots all in range to fire at her, Caterwaul told them all that she was still, and always would be, a Decepticon."

Caterwaul felt her spark twist inside of her. She had betrayed her friend by being a spy, and he was still protecting her. The femme wanted nothing more than to find him and apologize, but she couldn't do that yet.

The Decepti-cat shifted her weight around, and flicked her tail, making it look as if she were just waking up. She blearily opened her optics, and glanced toward Megatron and the lousy bug.

"What happened?" she growled, feigning ignorance, and Megatron told her what she already knew; Arachnid had shot Caterwaul and brought her to Megatron, who was willing to bring her back into the team.

"Thank you, it's good to be back in one piece," Caterwaul stated, then glared at Arachnid and snarled, "No thanks to you."

"How'd you even get here?" the evil 'Con sneered suspiciously, and Caterwaul retorted, "I used an explosion. Maybe I'll tell you how, if you don't try to use it to kill me, bug!"

"I'm not a bug!" the lousy bug snapped, and Caterwaul shrugged, "Whatever you say," –she narrowed her optics- "_Lousy Bug_."

**Heh heh heh. Just a random side note, I notice that so many cool shows are severely lacking female characters! I mean, Arcee is the _only_ femme on the TF Prime show! (_Arachnid: HEY! I'm here too!_) …Yyyyyeah... Like I _said_, the _ONLY_ femme on the TF Prime show!**


	39. Chapter 39

**HI! I'm back! To Lynn Jones: Yup. Thanks! Yeah, he's a nice person like that. You sense correctly. I have updated, yay! To Knockout'sFanGirl221: Yup. Thanks! Wow, really? THANK YOU! Energony fantastic is the best sort of fantastic that there is! _You_ are Energony fantastic! To Autobot-Mayday: Haha, thanks, it was actually "lousy bug," but "bug lady" sounds just as funny. Thank you! I shall indeed update and now I have. Yeesssss, soon she most certainly willllll… To Iceshadow911247: Very true. Really, which two episodes? The first episode was sad, and what made me hate Screamer. Don't be sad! Let me cheer you up by updating! And so, without further ado (whatever that means) on with this chapter!**

"It's good to have you back, Caterwaul," Knockout told the Decepti-cat, "Everything has been far too quiet."

"What, even with the Lousy bug around?" Caterwaul scoffed, and the red medic chuckled, "Oh, is that our newest team member's nickname?"

"Yep," Caterwaul answered, and Knockout shrugged, "Not the most original name, but it fits." Then he left to go repair some random vehicon drone (who had accidentally run into a wall in shock when he saw that Caterwaul was back).

Caterwaul chuckled; her nickname ideas were well-known among the team, so much that they were known as Caterwaul-names. For example, Starscream was sometimes labeled '_Scar_scream,' especially after a fight with Caterwaul.

Soundwave was often known as 'CopyCon,' because he repeated what he heard, and Knockout was jokingly referred to as 'Speedy' because he enjoyed racing so very much. (**Isn't Speedy a superhero on "Young Justice" or something?**)

Caterwaul occasionally called Breakdown 'Crash,' because that's what cars do sometimes if they break down. And finally, Megatron was known by everyone (except himself) as 'Bossy,' because he was.

Caterwaul loped along through the halls, feeling incredibly glad to be back. The ship was familiar, and she felt at home there. Of course, her _real_ home had been Cybertron, when nearly everyone had left, leaving her, insecticons, scraplets, and some others Cybertronians.

One day, Cybertron would be everyone's home again. One day.

Caterwaul shook off the memories and smiled when she got to her room. No one had entered it in all the time that she'd been gone, (**since they'd all feared that she would rain fire from the heavens upon them if they dared enter**). This pleased Caterwaul greatly.

Before Caterwaul could go inside, she saw Breakdown approaching, looking like he'd just woken up from recharging. He saw the Decepti-cat and instantly froze.

"Hi," Caterwaul whispered shyly, her fur fluffing up and her ears nervously pointing downwards. She couldn't even look him in the optic.

"You… You're back?" Breakdown asked, looking as if he couldn't believe it. If it had been anyone else asking that, Caterwaul would have sarcastically said, "No, what you see is a hologram because I'm actually very busy painting the planet Jupiter green! Yes I'm back!" But she didn't say that.

Instead, the femme hunched her shoulders, nodded, and told him how Megatron had allowed her to come back to the team. "Sooo…" she asked, "Um, what happened while I was… away?" The dark blue Decepticon told her how Arachnid had joined the team, and that Starscream had been captured by the Autobots soon afterwards.

Caterwaul forced herself not to bristle in fury at the fact that Breakdown had been the one to bring the Lousy bug to the team. She knew that it wouldn't be fair to blame him, and that she still owed him her life.

The Decepti-cat answered Breakdown's story with an explanation of what'd happened to her while she was with the Autobots. She made sure to be vague enough so that it wouldn't make Soundwave suspicious if he were listening in.

"So, Starscream escaped," Breakdown muttered grimly after Caterwaul informed him of what the Autobots had told her about the battle with Arachnid and that paralyzing-rod thingy, "I hope he still has those stasis-cuffs on his wings." "Me too."

There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"Um, Breakdown?" Caterwaul murmured, "I'm…I'm sorry about what happened, and know that I can never repay you. I just…thanks for saving me."

"From Starscream?" Breakdown inquired, sensing that it was more than that.

Caterwaul answered quietly, "From the storm, from Starscream, from the others knowing about what happened. And… saving me…from being alone."


	40. Chapter 40

**Hello! I just felt like torturing some bad guys when I wrote this filler-chapter, just to let ya' know. To Autobot-Mayday: Thanks! And worry not; you shall indeed see what happens next! To Knockout'sFanGirl: You is muchly welcome. I'll try to update soon. Yeah, I know how that feels. Me too! Yes he is. Eh, I don't really care much for Greek or Norse mythology, or whatever it's from, sorry. Why thank you; I'd LOVE some energon jello! I've heard that normal jello is made from animal bones… Thank you! To Iceshadow911247: Oh, yeah, Arachnid was creepy in the episode with Jack's mom. Yeah, that other episode is "Operation Bumblebee" from season 2. OOH, I hate the evil M.E.C.H. people… Yeh, Knockout is pretty cool, but I personally wouldn't describe 'im like that. Yeah, it is indeed their moment, squee… Um, I dunno; she seems to like that caffeine-energon stuff, but she might enjoy catnip too, I'll have to ask her. No no, don't let yer' catnip go to waste! People can actually eat it; I tried and it tasted really bitter and minty though. To TransFanFreak: Yyyyyeeeeeees. OK, Warning: contains some fluff in certain scenes, thou hath been warned-eth. To TheLoveDov: Heehee, yay. To Lynn Jones: Of course they are intact; awesome people usually have very intact senses! Glad ya like the Caterwaul/Breakdown thing. Thanks! Thank you, I'll try to update! I can't believe how many readers have reviewed! THANK YOU ALLLL!**

Several days after Caterwaul returned to the ship, the 'Cons located the ever-so-hated gang of humans known as 'M.E.C.H.' The human-scum were apparently searching for more Cybertronians to try to dissect and study.

Well that wasn't going to happen.

Megatron was busy recharging after having a bit too much energon, courtesy of Caterwaul's constantly fighting with Arachnid and causing chaos aboard the ship. So he didn't object when Caterwaul, Breakdown, and Soundwave decided to cause some trouble for M.E.C.H.

The trio used the groundbridge to appear about a mile ahead of the convoy of trucks, cars, and other primitive, ground-dwelling earth-vehicles. No noisy helicopters, which was good.

Caterwaul'd explained her exploding-energon-puddle idea to her teammates, and they agreed upon the plan. Caterwaul walked in a large semi-circle around the front of the vehicles, which were still too far away to see her clearly.

As the Decepti-cat walked, she deliberately left a trail of energon-blood, letting it form small puddles every 20 feet or so. Breakdown and Soundwave did the same, but from behind the group of moving vehicles.

By the time the humans saw Caterwaul, there was a full circle of energon-blood around them, and at once, the three 'Cons lit it.

There were marvelous mini-explosions as the small puddles surrounding the gang of humans caught fire. The explosions sent dust, rock, and debris everywhere, practically blinding the humans, who were unable to see where their enemies were, and panicked.

Caterwaul allowed herself a triumphant cackle, before darting through a gap in the fire. She'd already located the target beforehand, so the feline knew which truck to look inside of. …There!

Caterwaul smashed the flimsy window with her head, tore the door off of the vehicle with her tail, and leapt inside. Moments later, she exited, dragging a shouting, struggling, ugly human by his leg.

It tasted bad.

Caterwaul dragged the evil human through a gap in the fire, but close enough that he got painfully singed by the flames, which were beginning to dissipate.

(**WARNING! If ya' don't like the idea of gruesome injuries, don't read the next part! You have now been warned.**)

Caterwaul located the other two 'Cons, and galloped toward them, still dragging her annoying cargo by one bloodied leg. When Caterwaul reached her teammates, she tossed the human forward, and it landed with a '_crack_,' a yelp, and a heavy thump.

The leader of M.E.C.H. clutched his now-broken leg, writhing and glaring up at the Decepticons. Caterwaul was spitting out red liquid, muttering, "Ick, human-blood. Tastes horrible." And with that, she retched up a glob of metal to get the taste out of her mouth, and promptly sat upon the human's broken leg.

After the evil human quit screaming, Breakdown threatened to crush and then tear off all four of the human's limbs, and to break the rest of his bones and rip off pieces of the human's skin at the same time. And other horribly painful things.

During each insult, Caterwaul would jump up and down on the human's broken leg, causing more pained screaming. And every time the evil human screamed, Breakdown thwacked the guy's head with one large metal hand.

Soundwave detected the sound of humans approaching, and the 'Cons prepared to leave. Before they did, Caterwaul raked one set of claws down the evil M.E.C.H. leader's right eye, and gave him a warning.

"Don't mess with Cybertronians," the feline snarled, "We're not your prey. You're _ours_!"

**Whoo! MWA HA HAHA HAA! …Yeah, I can be a little scary sometimes, heh heh. Sorry if ya didn't like that bit. I thought that Caterwaul clawing the evil Silas's right eye (since he took out Breakdown's right optic) would be a nice example of cruel irony. Did I succeed? :3**


	41. Chapter 41

**To Knockout'sFanGirl: Hooray for bone-free energon jello! You truly are a marvelous energon-chef! Haha, thanks, I like the revenge-on-M.E.C.H. too. To Iceshadow911247: Hmm, I don't know what tea leaves smell like, I think I had tea once and didn't like it… Yeah, same with the catnip/catmint: first it tasted like a dried out piece of lettuce, but the inside was all bitter and gross. Well, I'm sure your cat won't mind having extra catnip; it's like giving a sibling more candy, maybe your cat's in shock from the wonderfulness of the stuff. Yes, she is a crazy, crazy 'Con. Wow, I feel so bad for your cousin- no wait, actually, not so much: 'Silas' is actually a name from the Bible, I think. *shrugs* To Autobot-Mayday: Yeah! Thank you, and I will try. This chappy-ter ain't gonna be very exciting though, sorry. I promise the next will be more exciting! To Lynn Jones: Yeh, me too, I loves da irony. Thanks very muchly much, and I appreciate the honest opinion too! Thank you! Okee dokey, _SOON_! _Soon_ there shall be more fluffiness! And now for ze chappy-ter!**

"Mmmm," Caterwau purred, giving a content yawn as she stretched out, cat-style, "That was fun."

"Yeah, it was," Breakdown agreed, "Maybe next time you really _will_ rip out that human's whole eye." "Hey, why me?" Caterwaul teased, and her friend laughed, "Well _I_ can't do it. My hands are too big!"

"Mm, true. But I'd have to worry about scraping all the blood out of my claws afterwards," Caterwaul chuckled, then added a bit shyly, "...And that'd be time that I... could've spent with you."

Breakdown smiled, a truly happy smile that made Caterwaul smile back, her spark leaping with joy, and her fur fluffed up as it always did when she was feeling very happy or shy.

"So, um," the femme asked, still smiling and fluffy-furred (her equivalent to blushing), "Did Soundwave manage to record all of our 'mission' with M.E.C.H.?"

Breakdown's happy-smile turned into a triumphant smirk, "Yup. Every single word, scream, and explosion. That fire was a great idea, by the way." Caterwaul's fur, starting to lay flat, fluffed up again, and Breakdown grinned.

The Decepti-cat, feeling a little embarrassed, decided to head back to her room to rest. So, she bid her friend farewell, and trotted away.

Before Caterwaul could get to her room however, she heard Breakdown call to her.

"Yes?" she asked, and Breakdown inquired, "Caterwaul, you've been kinda... different, ever since you came back from the Autobots. What happened there?"

The Decepti-cat stiffened. She had gotten Megatron to think that she had been in some secluded room or something while with the 'Bots, so she couldn't tell him anything about them. She didn't want to lie to Breakdown though, especially now.

But she couldn't just tell him everything; Soundwave could be listening in!

"Umm..." Caterwaul began, "It... I can talk about it on the roof." This must've seemed odd, since she had been on the roof when the whole Starscream-incident began. But at least the roof had no cameras, and the wind would drown out what she said if there were any.

Breakdown shrugged, and followed her up to the roof. Caterwaul wondered if this was a good idea after all; the height was nauseating, and she dug her claws in tightly as she sat down.

Caterwaul felt Breakdown's hand on her back, steadying her, and the feline purred gratefully.

"So... what is it exactly that you want to know?" she asked nervously, and her friend answered, "You were there for over a week. You shy away from fighting or even insulting the 'Bots now. And I haven't seen you standing up fully since you came back. Why? What happened?"

"Well, in order," Caterwaul explained, "I was badly injured and needed time to recover, and then find the ship again. I've worked with the Autobots for a long time, and these ones saved me. Also, my spine was injured in that fight, so I can't fully stand now."

"Who told you that?" Breakdown asked, referring to that last part.

"Ratchet."

"And you believe him?"

"...Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he's an medic."

"Knockout's a medic."

"Have you _seen_ the results of his 'repairs'?"

"...Good point. But why do you believe that Autobot? He could've been lying."

"He wasn't."

"How do you know?"

"Uno, mi bien amigo; he's an Autobot. Dos; Autobots tell the truth. Tres; when I try to fully stand, it feels like Unicron is stepping in me. So I'd say that Ratchet was telling the truth."

"Ah."

"..."

"..."

"We 'Cons are always trying to harm the Autobots. Yet, they help us sometimes, like when Megatron had the crazy-hyper energon stuff, or when I got hurt. Or when that green 'Bot rescued you from M.E.C.H."

"How... How'd you know about that?" Breakdown inquired, sounding faintly nervous.

"He told me," Caterwaul informed him, "And in my opinion, you and Bulkhead are more like competitive brothers than enemies."

"We a_re_ enemies," Breakdown insisted, but he sounded less certain, "The same goes for _all_ 'Bots and 'Cons. Except you."

"We don't all _have_ to be enemies," Caterwaul murmured gently.

There was an awkward pause.

"Want me to help you prove that Autobot medic wrong?" Breakdown asked abruptly.

Caterwaul smiled up at him, "...Yeah."

**Hee hee! :3 Yay, Breakdown's gonna help Caterwaul be able to stand** **up!**


	42. Chapter 42

**HIIII! Sorry I haven't updated for a while! FireFlare and I have been watching a really exciting anime called "Brigadoon"! …I just noticed that the MicrosoftWord program didn't make the squiggly red line (the one that means a word is misspelled or nonexistant) under the word "Brigadoon." Interesting… … _…NEVER USE GLUE TRAPS!_ For an explanation on that random sentence, please go to "A Transformer Discovery," chapter 38. Anyway! On to the reviews! **

**To ****KnockOut'sFanGirl****: You're very welcome, fellow non-bone jello liker! :3 Thanks! I never thought about how Ratchet'd react. I dunno; when I got a Knockout toy, the box said "**_his weapons are prone to malfunction, and his installation methods often leave Decepticons scarred or crippled. But who can resist having quantum disintegration at his fingertips?_**". With the 'installation' part, I'd thought it referred to his repairing other 'Cons. I dunno, sorry! I assumed he'd be a bit nastier than Ratchet in doing repairs. Sorryyyy, I really do like his character, no insults were meant to him and his awesomeness! **

**To Random guest: Thanks! Thank you, thank you! I shall indeed update as soon as I can. Which may take a while, since school starts really soon for me. Eeeeeevil schooooolllll… **

**To TransFanFreak101: Not sure; I hadn't thought of that, but not I may have something like that happen, t'is a good idea! Yes, it would be a moment of fluff. She will, don't worry! I've already written out the sequel! **

**To Lynn Jones: Yes, yes it is most certainly gonna be good! *_Caterwaul appears and whacks me over the head, saying, "Don't be so arrogant!"_* Heh heh. I've never heard that song, is it really good? Thanks! Now for the chappy-ter!**

The next day, pained moaning drifted out of Starscream's old room. (Now that he'd left, his room had been converted into a room for storage, battle-training, etc.)

And now, Caterwaul was doing her best not to mewl or cry in pain.

Ratchet had been right; trying to stand up on only her hind legs was agonizing! Breakdown had offered to help her try, and Caterwaul had eagerly agreed.

Now, she was practicing standing a little bit before he came.

It wasn't easy. Every time that Caterwaul put all of her weight on her hind legs, pain shot through her damaged limbs and up her spine.

She'd tried leaning on a wall with her front legs/arms, but her back legs kept slipping backwards on the floor. She tried using her tail to support her weight, but she kept losing her balance and falling over.

It would've been amusing were it not so painful.

So now, Caterwaul sat on the floor, waiting for her friend. After Breakdown arrived, he suggested picking Caterwaul up and slowly placing her on her hind legs.

Caterwaul was willing to try.

And try they did. It was working, but also still very painful. Caterwaul had to clench her teeth so she wouldn't yowl in pain.

'One... of these days…' she thought as she gritted her teeth, 'I'm… gonna _kill_… Starscream… for this.'

Just then, a loud rumble of thunder was heard from outside, as if to agree with Caterwaul's thought.

As she turned toward the sound, Caterwaul slipped and fell. Breakdown quickly stuck his arm under the feline to stop her from hitting the ground, and Caterwaul's fur practically exploded with poofy-ness.

It was nice though. Caterwaul, with her front paws on Breakdown's arm, nuzzled it for a second, before chuckling nervously.

She wriggled away, looking down with her shoulders hunched in embarrassment. Caterwaul glimpsed Breakdown grinning and asked defensively, "W-What?"

Breakdown grinned a bit wider, "You look like a cloud. Like you have a million gray dandelions in your fur."

She did indeed. Her fur was poofier than Caterwaul could remember ever seeing it. But that didn't mean that she wanted anyone to say it.

Caterwaul pouted- which was a bit childish, she admitted- and trotted over to a recently installed window to look outside at the sky.

The sky was filled with dark clouds, and rain was pouring. Caterwaul wasn't entirely fond of water, since it made her fur heavy and spiky-ish if she shook it.

There were lightning flashes and booms of thunder, which increased every minute. The ship was approaching a tall mountain range, and the lightning seemed dangerously close.

Even the air seemed tense, as if there were pressure building in it, and Caterwaul's fluffy fur prickled.

"Hey, Crash?" she asked, using her fond nickname for him, "Could you transform for a minute, please?" "Uh, ok," he replied, transforming willingly, "Why?"

"I'm not sure," Caterwaul said carefully, jumping on top of Breakdown's alt-mode, "Just a feeling. There's something…"

Just then, the air around them sizzled, and the ship lurched as a bolt of lightning carried electrical current through it.

There were loud squeak-noises from around the ship as the lightning encountered the other 'Cons. Then, there was a cacophony of simultaneous thumps, thuds, and crashes from various directions.

With a shared glance, Caterwaul and Breakdown headed out of the room to see what'd happened. They found a group of drones all sprawled out on the floor, twitching. They were alive, but unable to get up.

The duo found the other 'Cons in the same condition.

The Lousy Bug had apparently been woken from recharging by the electrical shock, her pointy limbs were all splayed out, and her expression was priceless.

Megatron was at the front of the ship, collapsed on the ground, twitching. His arm was stretched out like he was giving an order, and his face had a furious grimace on it. He probably resented having the lightning interrupt him from bossing the others around.

Soundwave was in front of Megatron at the control center for the ship, and his long fingers kept flicking and twitching. The dark Decepticon's visor lit up with a static-y picture for a second, then blinked out again. Looked like storm clouds. Clever Copy 'Con.

Knockout was flopped across one corner of his examination table, with a vehicon drone as his patient, also limp and twitching. Knockout was holding an active, high-tech blowtorch in one hand, and the device had partially melted part of the floor. Caterwaul quickly turned it off, and kicked it away.

"I am _so_ glad that your rubber tires don't conduct electricity," Caterwaul told Breakdown, and he nodded, "Same here."

Meanwhile, the others were all busy twitching spasmodically.

**Spasmodically is a funny word. …_NEVER USE GLUE-TRAPS!_ _Hisssss…_**


	43. Chapter 43

**GAAAAHHH! I'm so sorry I haven't updated! I _LOST_ one of the notebooks that I keep my written fanfic-rough-drafts in, and prayed to Jehovah God, promising not to go on Fanfiction for a week if I could just find my notebook! And then, a couple minutes later, my notebook was found! YAY!**

**To TransFanFreak101: Yeah, the word "spasmodically" just sounds funny if ya say it a lot. And the evil of the glue traps be-eth explained-eth in zee chappy-ter 38 of me other fanfic-y, called, "A Transformer Discovery." I dunno why I be 'speaking' like this all of a sudden, it's just fun! **

**To Autobot-Mayday: Hahaha, yes, the Decepticons (except for Caterwaul and Breakdown) are indeed twitching. Oh yeah, that'd be so funny! I would definitely watch that movie, ha ha. I don't know exactly how it would be scary, but it would definitely be funny.**

**To Autobot-Blurr-221: (Hey, weren't you KnockOut'sFanGirl221? I notice that yee doth keep-eth changin' yer' picture-thingy. Before it was a fire-y'Con insignia, now it be an Autobot insignia. I is confuse-ed muchly now.) Hahaha, yeah, this here chappy-ter be full o' more funnies, too. Ok, good, I didn't want to offend any fans of the epic red 'Con; he is really cool.**

**To NoMoreMarySues: …Really. Well. Could you give me a reason _why_ exactly, "TF FICS WITH OCs IN THEM, THEY ARE ALL AWFUL!"? And if they are "ALL AWFUL," then why are you reading mine? **

**To Lynn Jones: Yay, thank you! Actually, I really dunno if it was instinct, or info that she found out from some random place on Earth. Ooh, thank you again! Thanks ya muchly much, and I do believe that I shall check out the song that you speak of. In fact, I shall even listen to it as I type this chappy-ter!**

**Thanks so much to most of you for your thoughtful and wonderful reviews! I appreciate 'em all –well, _most_- so much indeed!**

Since all of the other 'Cons were only about half awake, twitching, going through random spasms, and could only squeak a little, Breakdown and Caterwaul had to steer the ship so it wouldn't crash.

Well, mostly Breakdown steered, since he'd lived on the ship much longer than Caterwaul. The Decepticat herself was… busy.

She was busy annoying the energon out of Megatron.

The Decepticon leader had been the first to regain his speech capabilities. But apparently, the lightning strike had temporarily fried his logic and dignity circuits, if there were such a thing.

(**Oh wow, I just finished listening to the song "I'll Walk," and you were right, ****Lynn Jones****, that song _is_ good! And oh my goodness, it fits so well! Thank you! Ooh, it's so touching, I'm gonna listen again!**)

Megatron still sounded really squeaky, and would've shut up after a single second if he'd had any sense. At that moment however, he had no sense whatsoever.

Poor, poor Megatron.

Blackmail of the century.

"It's _my_ ship!" he squeaked, sounding like a mouse who'd been breathing helium, "_I_ should be the one to drive it!"Caterwaul sat on the floor next to the huge Decepticon's head and 'tsk'ed.

"No," she stated bluntly, "You are spasmodically twitchy at the moment and would _doom us all_ if you were to even _attempt_ to drive your precious 'pinecone ship.' Therefore, you'll be staying right here on the floor until your twitchiness stops entirely."

"No!" Megatron squeakily protested, and one of his twitchy arms gave a brief spasm, "I will not let some- some _femme_, some earth-ish _cat_, drive my ship! It's _mine_!"

"No it is not," Caterwaul informed him, "At least not at this moment. You can't even move right now, much less fly an enormous ship."

He could see that Caterwaul was right, but didn't want to admit it, for fear of his ego being permanently scarred.

So Megatron yelled Cybertronian insults at Caterwaul.

All of which were thwarted by her extensive collection of creative, foreign-language insults (including a fictional language from a movie called "Lilo and Stitch." (**Yeah, Caterwaul knows literally every spoken language. Written language, not so much.**)).

After growing rather bored with winning her battle of insults with Megatron, so she wandered over to where Arachnid was.

The scummy creature was still very twitchy and spasm-y. Unable to run away.

Caterwaul smirked. "LLLLOW-zee Buuuuug," she called in a diabolical, singsong voice, grinning ear to ear.

The spider-y robot managed to make a nervous squeak.

…

A few minutes later, Caterwaul sauntered into the main control room, almost _prancing_ with smugness. Breakdown immediately noticed the femme's odd behavior.

"…What'd you do…?" he asked worriedly.

Caterwaul then described how very fun it was to misuse a permanent black marker on an immobilized, twitchy, evil mechanical spider.

Breakdown snorted a laugh, then went to look.

He found Arachnid still twitching on the floor, whacking her head on the ground when she tried to move. It was very funny.

Even funnier was the "Kill me" message written on her back in Cybertronian, the forked tongue, pointy mustache, bushy eyebrows, and fake tattoo of a can of bug spray. (**FireFlare, my sis, gave me the bugspray idea.**)

…

Caterwaul was waiting for Breakdown to return, when she heard a strange sound. Alarmed, she ran over to the source of the noise, where her friend had gone to observe the results of her prank.

There, she found…

…Breakdown. Laughing.

**Hahaha, he has a sense of humor! And Caterwaul has gotten it to come out of hiding! I hope you like this chapter! I dunno where Caterwaul got the marker, maybe she stole it.**


	44. Chapter 44

**Hi! Not much news, so I'll just answer some reviews. Oh hey, that rhymed!**

**To KnockOut'sFanGirl221: Ah, Okee dokey. Thank you!**

**To Iceshadow911247: Hmm, I've never heard that. Thanks for the suggestion, but I avoid songs that have references to spirits and stuff. Yeah, same here; I hate Arachnid sooo much. Well, I dunno; Breakdown just kinda seems, to me at least, like the sort of 'Con who _might_ have a sense of humor if he didn't have to be serious all the time. I really dunno.**

**To Hey Buddy: For your first review… Yes, I understand the no-paragraphs mistake and I've amended it. I added the 'insanity' description because I personally like insanity and find it funny; if you don't, that's your own opinion and I'm fine with that. I tried hard not to make Caterwaul a Mary Sue, and I never said that she was one; her character gets more complex as the story goes on. In chapter 3, I stated, _"__I don't intend Caterwaul to be a Mary Sue.__"_ I appreciate that you value creativity, as do many other thoughtful people. I enjoy getting good reviews as much as anyone else, so I thank people to be polite, and I still take the time to respond to negative reviews as fairly as I can. Here: I will say something a little different; 'If you _start_ reading something and don't like it, then don't read it.' Also, I cannot please every single reader of my story, nor can _anyone_. I'm not trying to seem 'cool' by calling myself insane, I really think that I'm a bit crazy and decided to put it in my description of myself. Caterwaul is a _Clouded Leopard, _not a snow leopard; Clouded leopards are smaller and have relatively longer fangs. Just because no other characters have animal-modes doesn't mean Caterwaul can't: this is a _fanfiction_, being almost entirely _fictional_ in relation to the Prime Universe. There are different words for female Transformers. Caterwaul is a very, very dark purple, almost black color, with faint silver. There's no rule book for optic color; Breakdown has yellow optics, Arcee has mostly-blue-with-a-bit-of-pink optics, and Megatron's optics change from red to purple if he's using dark energon. I thought the idea of knowing different spoken languages would be interesting and a bit different. Plus, a person _can_ know how to speak a language without knowing how to spell the words of it; Native Americans had no written language, but they had a _spoken_ one. I can't recall any of the TFs in that series use internet connection, except the Autobots with Raf's laptop. For your second review… The point of the story is to be funny and exciting, not fully based on logicalness. No, Caterwaul has always been a Decepticon and always will be, but she is a _good_ Decepticon. In the third Transformers movie, Sentinel was evil, but _he_ wasn't a Decepticon. Caterwaul's job, as I've explained a little bit throughout the story, is to seek vengeance for Cybertronians who were killed. I will truthfully admit, here and now, that I _am_ writing, in a way, for myself, because I don't usually share the stories that I come up with. If I was writing only for myself though, I'd update only whenever I feel like it. I work hard to make time to update because I want readers who like my story to be able to read more, sooner. As I said before, _I cannot please everyone_. If people don't want to read my fanfic, that is their choice. I am keeping the themes and number of chapters I have, and already tweak them as I type them for updating. I'm not telling you or anyone what my age is, because it doesn't matter, in my opinion. You are welcome for my reading _and responding to_ your lengthy reviews. They are very thought-out. I didn't enjoy writing this huge reply, mainly comprised of me defending my story, but I thought it better to have this out in the open, so anyone curious can see and judge accordingly.**

**To Autobot-Mayday: Hahaha, that'd be so funny! Thank you very much for the support, but most fanfics get negative replies, and I'm willing to deal with those that I infrequently receive. Thank you SO MUCH for being such a kind reviewer, I really, really appreciate it. It takes a while for me to type these chapters, and I have homework to worry about right now, but when I have time, I would love to read your fanfics; they sound very interesting!**

**To TransFanFreak101: Yeah, I agree. Although I could sorta imagine Soundwave smirking during that fight with Wheeljack in "Triage," when Soundwave took Wheeljack's sword…**

**To Lynn Jones: Heh heh. No no, don't worry; she only torments the eeeevil Arachnid. And thank you for your compliments and the song! Both are great!**

**Gaaaaa, my author's note is longer than this whole chapter! But I shall overcome this by making the chapter longer than it was originally!**

After several hours, Breakdown was still steering the ship, but taking a rest every now and then.

Caterwaul had been keeping an optic on the other 'Cons, who were a bit less twitchy, but still unable to move very much. The constant spasms and twitching had used up a lot of energy, and several of them, mostly the drones, were in recharge.

She was free to do anything on the ship, like contact the 'Bots and tell them that the other 'Cons were defenseless. But she didn't want to do that. She just… didn't.

Instead, Caterwaul headed back to the main control room. She was lonely.

When the Decepti-cat saw that her friend was taking a break, she bounded over to him with a happy purr. He seemed faintly surprised when the feline rubbed his arm with her head, and he asked her why.

"No one else on the ship can see us," she answered shyly, though her optics gleamed happily. She would never act like this if anyone else were watching. Trying to uphold her dangerous reputation would be extremely difficult if any of the others saw her being so friendly.

Breakdown kneeled down to pet her head, which Caterwaul llloooovvv- erm, liked. She liked it when he did that.

No one else though. She would hate that. Nobody else was allowed to pet her. Only Breakdown's petting of her was allowed to. Hoped for, really.

Caterwaul felt as if her spark was jumping and whirling around inside her, and her clouded leopard fur tingled. The femme felt like some sort of happy-thing, like a joyful shout or thrill or something, was going to burst out of her, and she shivered at the feeling.

"You ok?" Breakdown asked her, moving his arm away and tilting his head in concern. As if that was a trigger, the happy-thing inside of her exploded like one of those human firework-thingies.

A huge exclamation of joy erupted from Caterwaul, and she leaped forward, throwing her front legs/arms around Breakdown's neck in a sudden, tight embrace.

The feline nuzzled the larger Decepticon's face with her head vigorously, purring louder than a car engine and hugging even tighter. The Decepti-cat's clouded leopard-tongue flicked out in a rapid lick.

Caterwaul felt the huge, overwhelming whatever-it-was lessen, as if it were satisfied, and her arms/front legs went limp. She then frantically scrambled off of Breakdown's chest and back to the floor.

Her spark was beating faster than it ever had, and she felt exhilaration through the terrified, embarrassed panic that was rushing through her mind.

The sudden, quick hug may not have seemed like much, but to Caterwaul, it was the most extreme, unrestrained display of emotion she'd ever shown.

Huddled on the floor and quivering, the feline nervously looked up at Breakdown, who was staring at her in shock.

Caterwaul tried to say something, but her voice wouldn't work, and her throat felt tight. She tried again, really hard, and the tiniest squeak came out.

Caterwaul ducked her head and hunched her shoulders in humiliation. Why did she do that?! Unable to stay still, the Decepti-cat dashed away, racing back to her room, where she curled up in a corner, shuddering and making whimper-y noises.

She woke up some time later, and after a moment, cautiously slunk out of her room. What was she going to do?

Caterwaul crept back to the main control room, and spotted Breakdown at the controls. The feline ducked back behind a wall. Then peeked out again.

She inched forward and stopped. After a few seconds, she inched a bit closer. And again after a couple more seconds. Her tail, with her fur retracted, brushed against the floor, making a faint noise.

Caterwaul froze when she saw Breakdown stiffen, but relaxed when he went back to steering the ship. The feline inched a bit closer.

For several minutes, Caterwaul sat there as quietly as possible. She wondered if Breakdown could hear her spark pulsating, it was so rapid.

After some time, the blue 'Con stated simply, "Caterwaul." The femme jumped a little, her optics wide and startled.

"What does your alt-mode do?" Breakdown asked, sounding a little awkward. "Um," Caterwaul whispered, unable to see where he was going with this.

"Mine drives on a road," he explained, "What's your's do?"

"It, uh," Caterwaul mumbled, "I can run. And climb trees."

"You could do that now. I already landed the ship. There's, uh, trees outside."

"Ok." Caterwaul followed him out of the ship, into a beautiful forest, gleaming silver from the recent rain of the thunderstorm.

"Ohh," Caterwaul breathed, inhaling the clean, fresh night air, "Wow…" She transformed to clouded leopard mode and padded forward silently, temporarily forgetting what had happened earlier.

The feline slid through the rain-coated forest like a shadow, her golden optics glowing brightly. After a long time, she remembered that Breakdown was there. He had followed her through the trees, and she smiled at him serenely. This place was so wonderful.

"It's nice here," she murmured softly, "Thank you." She brushed against him, purring faintly, then remembered how she'd acted before, and stopped.

"I, I'm sorry," she whispered, "About before, and…I just…" Caterwaul stopped speaking as she felt Breakdown's hand gently petting her head.

"It's fine," he told her softly, then added reluctantly, "We should probably get back soon. The others will be waking up." Caterwaul saw that it was nearly dawn.

"Right," she murmured, "Thank you again."

Back on the ship, which was resting on the ground near the forest, the two went to their separate rooms and went into recharge.

When they woke the next morning, Megatron (who had regained full mobility and non-squeaking speech) called them both to him.

"Surprisingly," he growled in his growly, raspy voice, "The events of last night have provided a plan for crippling the Autobots."

Caterwaul's optics narrowed. What was the Decepticon leader planning this time? He was one of the only 'Cons affected by the lightning strike who had fully recovered, seeing as many of the others were still recharging.

"As most of the Decepticons here were practically held prisoner on my own ship," Megatron continued, "why not keep an Autobot ally prisoner? Those sympathetic fools have human children in their care. Certainly they would be willing to… negotiate, if one happened to go missing."

Aaand Caterwaul's hope of a day off was shattered.


	45. Chapter 45

**Hi! First things first: The Hey Buddy person and I are not fighting. All is well. Now that I have stated this, on to the reviews!**

**To Autobot-Blurr 221: It gets confusing when ya keep changin' yer' username, KnockOut'sFanGirl221. Thanks, and very funny use of chapter quotes, haha. Worry not: I will update soon! Haha, that was an unusually long chapter, I dunno if I can make 'em too much longer. Actually, that last chapter never originally had that whole hug-incident, it was just Caterwaul and Breakdown landing the ship near a forest, exploring, and finding the school that the 3 kids go to. Then I remembered that Nevada has few to no forest, at least from what I've seen on the show. So I spontaneously added in the hug-incident. And so, the chapter came to be.**

**To Autobot-Mayday: Yeah, poor her, and yes; you spelled it right, worry not. Sorry for leaving you hanging. Ok, Ok, I'll update soon! I'm scared of spiders, too, but I try to save them if they get trapped in a building, and I let them go free outside, yay! Haha.**

**To Iceshadow911247: No worries, it's ok! Everyone likes different stuff, so thanks for the suggestion anyway. Yep, I hates da eeeeevil Lousy Bug too. Yay, I love glorious trees too! Never have I heard of 'Rascal Flatts,' or if I did, then I has forgotten. And yes, I think that YouTube is supporting it, Woohoo! (Or maybe your computer's alive and supports it! O.O ) Nope, no day off; Megatron is so cruel.**

**To Lynn Jones: Yeah, poor Decepti-cat. You'll have to wait and see! Thanks! Heehee, it took longer than I'd expected to type that all up, but I is muchly much pleased with the results.**

**To TransFanFreak101: Hahaha, I started laughing when I read that first part of your review, "0.0 Oh noes! He's going to get one of the kiddies!" It's ok, the person and I are not fighting, they explained on the private-messenging-thingie that they meant no harm, though I thank you for your support and continuing wonderfully nice reviews. Awwwww, thank you! I will go to one of your fanfics and give you a nice review! …Aaaand now I have. On the "New Home, New Life, New Friends and Family" Fanfic. It is very goooood.**

**Now, on with this here chappy-ter!**

Caterwaul stared in horror at the limp human lying on the floor of the ship.

Megatron had ordered Breakdown to retrieve any one of the three humans that the Autobots kept, and so Breakdown had done exactly that. Not very enthusiastically, which Caterwaul was glad about.

The human was…

…

…Miko.

That hyperactive jumpy human who Caterwaul had met first out of all the persons on earth. Now the girl was laying on the floor of the ship with her eyes closed.

"Why. Isn't. She. Moving," Caterwaul inquired tensely of Breakdown.

"I don't know," he told her apologetically, "I took the human from close by a large building with lots of other smaller humans nearby. This human started yelling and jumping around in my alt-mode, and then it hit something and went limp."

Caterwaul sniffed at the girl and poked her with one paw. The human was alive, breathing, but not awake. There was a bit of a bump on her head though, with a faint bruise forming.

"SO!" Megatron called loudly, startling Caterwaul, "Is it online? I wouldn't want all this to be a wasted effort, seeing as we can't bargain if we have only a dead hostage."

Caterwaul gritted her teeth, "_She_ is alive. Not dead, just unconscious."

The feline silently added, 'And _you_ didn't spend _any_ effort on this, you pompous dictator; you just sent poor Breakdown to follow your worthless orders!'

"Excellent," Megatron continued, unaware of Caterwaul's seething, "Then find someplace to keep the human so that it won't die yet. I have some negotiations to make with the Autobots." And with that, he left.

Caterwaul growled quietly, making sure not to aim the noise at Megatron in case Soundwave was watching. As he usually was. Oh how frustrating it was to live near a walking, transforming, living security camera.

The feline purred and rubbed against Breakdown's leg to show that she didn't blame him for the predicament she was in. Then she turned to the human, deciding to keep Miko in her room, which was one of the few places with no security cameras.

Caterwaul paused, and cocked her head from one side to the other. How was she going to get the human there? The Decepti-cat was still unable to stand up fully, and she didn't want to _push_ the limp human to her room.

She couldn't drag her there with her teeth either; that could injure the girl. Caterwaul looked at the girl and growled to herself. Then she looked up at Breakdown, who was grinning slightly at the Decepti-cat's befuddlement.

"Can you help?" Caterwaul muttered to him. She didn't like asking for help.

"Sure thing," Breakdown told her, then easily picked up the floppy human, and flopped her over Caterwaul's shoulders like a sack of potatoes.

Caterwaul smiled at her friend, nodded a thank-you, and trotted away, heading toward her room.

Once there, she allowed the unconscious girl to slide off of her and onto the floor. Caterwaul winced at the faint grunt of pain when the girl's already-injured head landed on the ground.

Now. How to wake her up?

Caterwaul poked Miko's arm. Nothing happened.

The Decepti-cat shook her by the shoulder. Nothing happened.

So she picked up one of the girl's arms and dropped it. Nothing happened.

"Wake up!" Caterwaul hissed in Miko's ear, and you'll never guess what! Nothing happened.

By now, Caterwaul (who was already miffed about the entire situation) was getting frustrated, and a frustrated Caterwaul is a scary Caterwaul.

The feline grabbed one of the girl's poofy black-and-pink pigtails with her teeth, and yanked. Nuh-thing. NOTHING! This was annoying.

So Caterwaul ignored the unconscious human and worked on sharpening her tail-blades and claws and teeth. When that was done, the feline curled up and took a cat-nap.

A couple minutes later, Caterwaul got up, stretched, and went back to the still-limp human. She yanked one of the girl's pigtails again, and was finally rewarded with a startled yelp.

"Finally, you're awake," Caterwaul muttered as Miko sat up.

"WHOA!" the girl exclaimed, looking around and seeing Caterwaul. Then she winced, "Ah, ow, my head."

Caterwaul smirked faintly, "Hi, Miko." The girl jumped and spun around to look at her again. "Caterwaul? What is this place?"

"My room," the feline stated, "You've been unconscious for an annoyingly long amount of time. Megatron wanted a hostage to use against the Autobots, and you're it."

"Oh great," Miko griped, "Well then that explains why big ol' Cyclops kidnapped me from my school."

The girl jumped back in surprise when Caterwaul snarled at her, fur bristling and golden optics narrowed.

"His _name_ is _Breakdown_," Caterwaul growled, "And he was only doing what Megatron _ordered_ him to do."

"Sheesh, alright, alright," Miko exclaimed, "So how am I gonna get out of here?"

Caterwaul shrugged, still miffed at her, "I suppose I'll find _some_ way to get you back to the 'Bots, _eventually_." And with that, Caterwaul stalked out the door.

She was startled to see Breakdown walking quickly away, like someone who's been caught doing something they shouldn't.

"…Breakdooooowwwn," Caterwaul called slowly, and lifted an eyebrow as he turned around, "Were you listening iiinnn…?"

… "Maybe."

"I see."

"Didn't hear much."

"Oh?"

"Just that bit where you snarled at the human for what she said."

"…"

"About me."

"…"

"Thank you."

"Mm-hm." And, fur fluffing up again, Caterwaul nodded and hurried away to go get some energon. That 'Con could be so confusing sometimes.

But Caterwaul smiled at the thought of him just the same.

**How will Miko get back to the Autobots? Will the others find out? Will I ever get my homework finished? Find out next time! Haha, cheesy teaser.**


	46. Chapter 46

**Hallooo! I be updatin' early-ish in the morning 'cause I'm bored and don't feel like sleeping. My family's been watchin' "Farscape." …Yeah, that's pretty much it. And after I update, I'm going bury a dead little baby fish. Very sad.**

**To Mayday200: Yay, thank you! Spiders, well, I still don't like being near them, so I try to think of "Charlotte's Web," and then I scoop 'em up on a piece of paper and out the door they go! Eh, sorry for the short-ness, that wasn't one of my favorites to write _or_ type. Ah, you'll see… Sorry, but I can't give away what happens! I wanna tell you, but I can't! Not yet anyway.**

**To Iceshadow911247: Sorry! *shrugs in apology* Your computer's name is Elec? Cool! My family names their cars and stuffed animal-toys. Yeah, she's protective like that… Caterwaul shan't eat you, Iceshadow911247, she doesn't like the way humans taste. But she could inflict some damage, so I shall save you! Hey Caterwaaaaul, I got the evil M.E.C.H. leader here, all tied uuuup!** **Mwa ha ha!**

**To MEGAFARTISLAME: Hahaha, interesting username! Annnd, yes. Yes Caterwaul does like 'im.**

**To Autobot-Blurr 221: Ah, don't worry; all yer' usernames are great! I'm glad I updated too. And Miko, well maybe she be dead, maybe she don't. Heh heh.**

**To TransFanFreak101: Yep, homework is _definitely_ worse than 'Cons; they can only kill you, homework can do far worse! O.O Yeah, not much fluff in that chapter, just a teensy bit, I think.**

**On to the chappy-ter!**

"…So!" Miko said in a bored voice, "Is there anything at all to _do_ around here?" Caterwaul rolled her optics; how could the little human be _bored_ after she was kidnapped and imprisoned on a huge ship? Humans were very strange.

"There's nothing much that you'd find interesting," Caterwaul told the girl, "Or even able to do at all."

Miko groaned impatiently, "Aww, C'mon, there must be _something_ you do all day that's fun. Can't you tell me something _I_ can do?"

In order, the human's activities on the ship had been: being unconscious, being carried to Caterwaul's room, staying unconscious, waking up, being told what'd happened, being growled at for insulting Breakdown, calling the other humans using a small pink metal thingy known as a 'cell phone,' and now saying that she was bored.

Caterwaul shrugged, then told Miko the boring/routine stuff she did during the day, "I recharge, I exercise to heal my spine, I get energon, I help out around the ship, and I sharpen my claws and tail blades on that."

The feline pointed at a flat, claw-raked piece of metal in the corner. Miko cocked her head and poked it. "Huh," the girl said, "This thing looks familiar…"

"It should," Caterwaul stated with a smirk as Miko ran her hand over the thing, "It's part of Screamer's wing." Miko jumped away from the shredded piece of Cybertronian anatomy, and made a startled face at Caterwaul. Then she kicked the hard piece of metal, which hurt her foot.

"So," the girl said after she quit holding her injured foot, "Anything _fun_, or at least _interesting_ to do here?"

So Caterwaul listed the less boring stuff that she usually did, "I sometimes go on scouting missions, I do battle-training with the others, sometimes I do a bit of spying, and I usually torture Screamer. But since he's not here, I torture the Lousy Bug, who I hate even more. So what do you do?"

Miko told Caterwaul that she usually hung out with Jack and Raf at the Autobot base, played video games, and 'texted' on her cell phone.

As the human was explaining what a cell phone was, a knock was heard at the door. Miko ducked to hide behind Caterwaul, who smirked at her.

"Just a second, Breakdown!" the Decepti-cat called, walking toward the door.

"How can you tell who it is?" Miko whispered at her, so Caterwaul told her simply, "He's the only one who dares come here without any fear of shredded wiring, lacerated armor, or suddenly-missing limbs." Miko made a 0.0 face.

Then Caterwaul opened the door, and the large blue Decepticon walked in.

"Hey, Caterwaul."

"Hi, Crash."

"'Crash'?" Miko asked in confusion, but Caterwaul hissed at her. 'No explanation for you!' The feline was still miffed at the girl for insulting Breakdown.

"What is it?" Caterwaul inquired of her friend, who said, "You remember what you did after that lightning strike? Using a 'marker'?"

Caterwaul snickered, and replied, "Yes. Why?"

"Arachnid doesn't. She's trying to kill some of the vehicons, trying to find out who did it to her."

"Ah. I'll… see what I can do."

"What, that creepy spider-'Con?" Miko asked, and Caterwaul nodded.

Miko grinned, "I have an idea."

**Oooh, what does the idea be? I'll give you a hint: it stinks. Heh heh.**


	47. Chapter 47

**Halloo! FireFlare and I watched episode 19 of TransformersPrime season 2 several days ago. When Knockouit pulled out his whirling chainsaw-thingy, I literally half-yelled at the computer screen, "Do it, Knockout, get 'im! DO IT!" My sis told me to shush. But I think she was thinking the same thing. We both had evil grins on our faces at that last part of the episode. VENGENCE!**

**To MayDay200: Heehee, it'll be funny, I promise. Same here. The Lousy Bug must suffer. I shan't let her kill Breakdown in my fanfic. (But since this chapter here is still in season 1, yer' gonna have to wait over 50 more chapters until I get to that part of the story.) I loves da cookies too, 'specially chocolate chip, oatmeal, and sugar cookies. I'm almost always insane! Hahaha!**

**To TransFanFreak101: Yay! You don't hafta wait much longer, 'cause here be the chappy-ter!**

**To Autobot-Blurr 221: Yep. Uh-oh for the Lousy Bug. You is welcome. Ii shall try to update soon!**

**Now, the chapter. Mwa haha.**

… "Are you sure?" the loathsome spider-'con asked suspiciously.

"Of course!" Caterwaul answered seriously, "Nobody's going to notice those marks all over you soon."

Apparently, the lightning bolt (from a couple chapters ago) had slightly affected some of the zapped Decepticons' processors. So Arachnid didn't remember who wrote all over her with a permanent black marker.

Excellent.

Now, Caterwaul had informed her of a substance on Earth that would help. And the _supposed_ substance _supposedly_ came from a certain animal. (**Can ya guess?**)

The Lousy Bug didn't fully trust Caterwaul, which shows that it must have _some_ little teeny bit of intelligence in there somewhere. …I think. Nah, maybe not.

The ship had landed near the forest, sending Caterwaul and the Lousy Bug through a groundbridge to the opposite side of the forest. This way, the supposed animal would be scared into going toward them.

Breakdown had temporarily taken Caterwaul's job of guarding the human, so that the Decepti-cat could… 'help' Arachnid.

So now, the Decepti-cat and Lousy Bug were trekking through a thick forest, in search of the supposed animal. Caterwaul chuckled evilly to herself, but made sure to do so quietly.

She sniffed the air, creeping forward very cautiously. A whiff of scent floated past, and the feline's nose twitched. Ick. She spotted the creature's black and white fur through some bushes ahead and grinned. (**Can ya guess? Heh heh.**)

"Found it!" she called quietly, hoping not to startle the furry animal. That would be the Lousy Bug's job.

Caterwaul crept backwards as Arachnid stalked towards the creature.

"This thing?" the evil spider-'con asked incredulously, "It's so puny."

"Yup," Caterwaul said, struggling not to grin, "And I think it should be easy to catch, too." She covered her mouth with one paw to stop herself from laughing.

"Hm," the scummy spider-'con sneered, "Interesting-looking little stripy thing. Maybe I should start up my species-collection again." Caterwaul bristled in disgust and fury, but continued edging backwards.

When the Lousy Bug got closer to the animal, Caterwaul saw it turning and lifting it's tail. The Decepticat bolted as if her life depended on it. Or at least her sense of smell.

Seconds later, Caterwaul heard an energon-curdling shriek. "AAAAIIHHHH!" She burst out laughing, continuing to race away at top speed.

Reaching the ship a few moments later, she raced through the main entrance-door, and back into her room.

Miko was laying upside-down on the floor with her legs against one wall. Breakdown was sitting by the opposite wall, looking very bored. He brightened up when Caterwaul entered.

"My plan worked?" Miko asked eagerly, her pigtails flicking upwards somehow.

"Heh heh heh heh heh," Caterwaul chuckled evilly, "It worked, alright." Then she started laughing uncontrollably, "It worked, hahaha, oh it worked perfectly, hahaha!"

Breakdown grinned, and Miko whooped, "Ha ha, I can't believe you actually got her skunked!"

**Hee hee hee. The skunk got away too, so it's a win-win.**


	48. Chapter 48

**Hi. Several of our baby fish died, and are now buried in my backyard. Responding to nice and funny reviews now is making me feel better. Thank you.**

**To Mayday200: Heh heh eh, yeeesssss, she be muchly skunk-ed indeed. Oh, I shan't let her kill Caterwaul! Woohoo, I am not alone in my insanity and loathing of that M.E.C.H. scum! Thank you sooo much!**

**To Autobot-Blurr 221: Yay, thank you! I shan't let that happen., as I spoke of to Mayday200; If anything, it'd be the other way around.**

**To Autobot StarRacer: Oh, thank you so much! I wanna kill the Lousy Bug too, and I've ensured that Breakdown does NOT die in my fanfic. Actually, in the 3rd sequel of this fanfic that yer' reading now, but I haven't even started typing the 1st sequel to this! Confusing, yes? Thank you, thank you very much for commenting!**

**To Iceshadow911247: Yay, I am pleased that I got her skunked. Thanks!**

**To smoshaholic123: Ooh, thank you! Yeah, she can be devious. Not as much so as the character I've come up with for my upcoming sequel, but still devious. Thank you for commenting!**

**To EHSparkwoman: Huh? HUH?! Oh, ok. I was highly concerned for a moment that you might *_cough_* like *_hack_* the *_choke_* Lousy Bug *_pukes and then writhes on the floor with arms flailing_*. Oh, I am so glad. Your detest -for the evil Lousy Bug and M.E.C.H. scum- has revived me. I dunno where Screamer went, wherever he vanished to during the episode, I guess; that never was explained…**

**On to the chapter!**

Caterwaul snuck a peek out one of the windows. She spotted Arachnid, half a mile away, sopping wet from trying to wash off the skunk-smell in a stream.

Marvelously, the Lousy Bug had failed.

(**As a bonus, the skunk was currently telling all his friends, relatives, and even enemies about his defeat of the giant shiny spider-thing. The tale was passed down for generations and soon grew into legend.**)

Caterwaul narrowed her optics in devious glee.

The Decepti-cat raced away toward the main control room (**Sorry, I have no idea what else to call it.**)

"Hey!" she called, mostly to Soundwave, "Quick! Close the main entrance!"

The expressionless Decepticon cocked his head. Having no idea what that was supposed to mean, Caterwaul repeated her urgent direction.

Soundwave shook his head slowly, and showed a picture of the Lousy Bug on his visor, then pointed outside.

"I know!" Caterwaul agreed, "That is why the main entrance must be closed!"

"And what reason would that be?" Megatron questioned, striding into the room. Caterwaul turned to him almost beseechingly.

"The Lousy B- erh, Arachn- Arach-… Gah, the Lousy Bug is coming!" she yelled, unable to even call the Lousy Bug by name, "And it brings the most horrid stench I ever have encountered!"

"And that's saying a lot, 'cause I've smelled some pretty nasty stuff," she added, then looked past the light gray 'Con, noticing that the Lousy Bug was almost to the ship.

Megatron rolled his optics, "Why do I even _attempt_ to put up with this idiocy? I highly doubt that any harm can come from Arachnid returning to the ship. So stop your complaining and-"

Caterwaul threw back her head and yelled at the top of her voice, "_Hide in your rooms and seal the doors if you value your sense of smell!_"

Soundwave flinched ever so slightly at Caterwaul's loud volume, just as Megatron hissed at the feline, "What do you think you're doing?!"

Caterwaul turned to half-glare, half-gape at him, one optic twitching slightly, "We must protect the ship and the others from _The Horror_!"

"What 'horror'?" Megatron sneered, just as the Lousy Bug got within 10 feet of the ship's main entrance.

"_That_ Horror!" Caterwaul shrieked in mock-panic, pointing. Then she promptly turned and ran, racing back to her room as fast as she could, yelling her warning the whole way.

Once in her room, Caterwaul closed the door and sealed it by retching metal goo on all the openings.

She, along with the human, and Breakdown (who was getting very tired of said-human) heard from the main control room, "ARRRRGHHHHH! Arachnid, WHAT is that STENCH?! Get out before it spreads to the entire ship!"

There was the sound of several doors closing simultaneously, and a shriek of frustration from Arachnid. Caterwaul grinned and turned to look at Miko, "You do realize that I'm going to have to blame this all on you, right?" The girl nodded

After a second, Megatron called (from his own room) over the comlink, "You can leave the control room too, Soundwave." Instantly, there was another door-closing noise.

Nearly half an hour later, Miko was teaching Caterwaul how to play rock-paper-scissors while the Lousy Bug tried in vain to get rid of the skunk stink.

All. Over. The ship.

Megatron, after hearing no noise from Arachnid for a while, wondered if the stench had somehow killed her. Then he made the supreme mistake of opening his door to look.

The light gray Decepticon's bellow of appalled rage and disgust was heard all around the ship as Arachnid demanded, right in Megatron's face, that he find some way to get rid of the smell. Which had just spread to Megatron himself.

The Lousy Bug blamed Caterwaul for it, and –from the safety of her room- the feline defended herself, "I just told the Lousy Bug what the human suggested!"

She added silently, "I said the stuff would make sure no one _noticed_ the marks all over the Lousy Bug; everyone's going to be too far away, hiding from the smell to _notice_. But I never said it'd get _rid_ of the marks. Which are still there."

"I'm going to _kill_ that human!" Arachnid raged, kicking at Caterwaul's room door and denting one of her pointy high-heel feet, "And I'll keep it there until I kill that _other_ human, who ruined my _ship_!"

"You really have issues with humans, huh?" Caterwaul asked calmly, smirking. This was some of the most fun she'd ever had on any of her missions of guilt-bringing and/or torturing.

The whole hiding-from-smelly-Arachnid thing was getting a bit old though. And Megatron was ordering her to get the human to explain how to remove the smell.

Caterwaul shrugged and asked Miko. The girl scoffed, asking why she should help the 'Cons. Caterwaul growled at her.

"Because I plan on getting you off this ship alive," Caterwaul whispered, "And I will have to leave this room to do that. Meaning we will get skunk-smell all over us. Plus Megatron might break my door open and kill you if you don't tell us."

Miko nodded, seeing the wisdom in Caterwaul's words, and told them that they needed tomato juice to get rid of the smell.

So, Megatron ordered some Vehicons to go get some. They had to travel through the groundbridge to over a dozen human stores to get enough.

And then everyone with skunk-smell on them –except for Megatron- had to coat all of the smelly parts of the ship with the tomato juice, and then wash it off.

So the ship smelled all tomato-y.

When this task was completed, Megatron ordered Caterwaul to come out of her room, also ordering her to bring the human, too.

Caterwaul stood in front of her room door, gently holding one of Miko's arms between her teeth. It was a rather bizarre sight.

Megatron stayed away, still trying to get the last bits of skunk-smell and tomato juice off of his armor. But, he gave Caterwaul an order over his comlink, also ordering Arachnid and Soundwave to go there to ensure that his command was obeyed.

Megatron had ordered Caterwaul…

To kill the human.


	49. Chapter 49

**Hi! I'm all tired and bored now, so I'm just randomly laying on my bed and typing up this here chapter.**

**To ****Autobot-Blurr 221****: I will try to update soon, thank you for the encouragement! Really? 'Cause I see bad stuff happening **_**to**_** Arachnid. Maaaarvelously bad stuff... Meh, Miko ain't one of my favorite characters either. Thank you!**

**To ****TransFanFreak101****: Yes, oh noes indeed! Ok, I'm not sure if you're saying "I'll save you!" to Miko or Caterwaul. But, hey, I'm kinda tired at this moment and my brain not be functionin' as little as it usually doesn't. Wait, what'd I say? I don't even know now.**

**To ****Iceshadow911247****: Sorry to have ruined your good day with my chapter cliffhanger of doom! I apologize. Ooh, it actually made you gasp? YES! I was hoping that it would shock and startle people! :3**

**To ****Mayday200****: You'll see what happens soon. Um, Caterwaul's already a Decepticon, she's just a good one on the Autobots' side sort of. Oh, silly: Crazy people like you and I can never have too much sugar!**

**To ****Lynn Jones****: Uh-oh is right. (Nice picture by the way, I love wolves.) Thank you! Don't worry about it, I don't comment on every single fanfic or chapter I read, and I know how insanely annoying it can be to have no time. I'm now sending mucho de sympathy to you now! Can you feel it? It feels like banana bread and a ferret in a hat. Heehee, I like-eth the skunky too, 'specially 'cause in an older show, "Transformers: Robots In Disguise," one of the 'Cons **_**is**_** a skunky, thus there is irony** **hiding in there someplace. You'll see...**

**To ****EHSparkwoman****: *blink blink.* I have to answer this review at the end of this chapter so I don't reveal what happens in this chapter.**

**On to the chapter that I am speaking of!**

"WHAT?!" Miko yelped, "Why?! All I did was _deceive_ the _Decepticons_!"

"Hmm," Knockout interjected over the comlink, still staying in his own room near the med-bay, "I thought you'd wanted to use the human as a hostage, Megatron." He had no reason to hate the girl really, since he hadn't encountered the skunky-smell or had to clean the ship.

"I do not care!" Megatron roared over the comlink, "That puny human is more trouble than it it worth! Now, Caterwaul, KILL IT!"

"Why shouldn't _I_ be the one to kill this creature?" Arachnid complained, "I'd like to keep it's corpse as a little trophy."

"YOU do not _deserve_ a 'trophy'!" Megatron snarled over the comlink at the Lousy Bug, "Seeing as _you_ are the one who spread that revolting stench all over my ship! NOW KILL IT, CATEWAUL!"

Caerwaul turned to the girl and instantly slashed her claws across the human's soft stomach, earning a scream from Miko.

Red, dark liquid spattered the ground as the girl moaned and collapsed, laying motionless on the floor of the enormous ship. More scarlet fluid trickled out from under her torn shirt.

"Is it done?" Megatron inquired, and Soundwave confirmed it with his visual recording. Megatron growled, pleased, then ordered him and the others –minus Caterwaul- to continue cleaning the ship.

Caterwaul narrowed her eyes, then dragged the unmoving human back into her room.

Caterwaul dropped the human's limp form on the floor of her room, then closed and locked her door. She leaned towards the crimson-stained human with a grin.

"Miko," Caterwaul whispered, "It worked. We fooled them!" The unmoving girl suddenly sat up, smiling triumphantly.

"You sure?" she asked, "I didn't think that crazy plan of yours could work!" Caterwaul scowled at her, then pawed away the shredded remains of the bag of tomato juice that had been hidden under the girl's lower shirt.

The punctured thing was in tatters, and still oozing tomato-juice-goo on Caterwaul's red-stained forepaw, whose claws were almost fully retracted.

"Your claws still nicked me," Miko complained, looking at a thin, shallow scratch across her stomach. "Rather my claws and you being sent to a human-medic," Caterwaul growled, "Than Megatron's cannon and you being sent to a morgue."

Miko shrugged, "Good point. I'll have to get a new shirt though; this one's ruined."

Caterwaul shrugged back at her, "It adds character." The human laughed, and Caterwaul shushed her. They'd have to wait until the next battle for Caterwaul to be able to give Miko back to the Autobots and other humans.

As it turned out, the next battle was rather soon. There was a fight between the Decepticons and Autobots over a large, information-containing capsule, and Caterwaul took Miko along.

To hide the girl from the others, though, Caterwaul had to hide her. Where? In her mouth!

Caterwaul ate an enormous amount of Cybertronian metal before the 'Cons left for the retrieval of the container-thing, and then carried the small human inside of her mouth to the site, praying that the Autobots would be there; Miko barely fit in her mouth, and tasted awful.

Sure enough, the Autobots were there. Caterwaul practically vomited the girl out onto the dirt, telling her to stay hidden behind some rocks or something until the 'Cons left.

Seeing as the girl had called her human friends on her cell-phone, the Autobots knew that she would be there, and were ready to bring her back with them. They also left Caterwaul a small thank-you gift.

It was a small Autobot insignia, which looked red or silver depending on how the light hit it. Caterwaul was very happy, and decided to keep it safely hidden in her room.

She'd already retched up most of the excess metal, back on the ship, and used some of it to make ledges on the walls for her to sit on.

She was just hiding the insignia when she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in, Breakdown!' she instinctively called, out of habit. Then she realized that the insignia was still in sight, and quickly shoved it under some metal.

But it wasn't hidden enough.

Because Breakdown saw it when he entered the room.

**To ****EHSparkwoman****: Wow, you are a VERY good guesser. And yeah, Screamer dancing was so weird and funny! Along with Megatron saying "See to it that Knockout is extracted from the wall." Such a funny episode. Poor Dreadwing, finding out what happened to his twin like that... I hope he joins the 'Bots!**


	50. Chapter 50

**Hello. This... is the **_**last chapter**_**... of "A Con Called Caterwaul." *ominous music plays in the backround* Yes: It has come to this. (Fittingly, there's a actually huge storm expected to be coming near where I live soon.) Enjoy! :) **

**To ****Mayday200****: Yeah, me neither. I really liked writing this chapter. Aww, how dare anyone deprive someone of their sugar!**

**To ****Iceshadow911247****: Nope, it ain't good. Hahaha, me too. (**_**I was SO upset about what the directors**_** (**_**or writers or whoever) did for the 25**__**th**__** episode, though. CURSE THEM! I stopped watching after about ½ the episode, 'cause I didn't want to see anything else go wrong or sad.**_**) Yeah, but Screamer's funny when he thinks out loud, haha ha.**

**To ****TransFanFreak101****: Yes, you shall indeed find out, Hahaha.**

**To ****Autobot-Blurr 221****: O.O WHAT?! Oh, I can see how a Knockout-fan would dislike having Breakdown scratch Knockout and his paint-job o' epicness. Weeeelllllll, he ain't happy about it, that's fer' sure. Yee shalt soon discover-eth it for thine-self.**

**And now... The last chapter. I'm listening to the song "Broken Angel."**

"Caterwaul," Breakdown inquired seriously, closing the door and pointing to the small red piece of metal on the ground, "What's that?"

"Oh," the Decepti-cat stalled, "Just something I found." Actually, it was a gift from the Autobots to thank her for saving Miko. So technically she _had_ found it... in the hand of the Autobot who gave it to her.

"Nooo," Breakdown muttered slowly, walking closer and bending down to take a better look, "That's..." He looked up at the feline, who gazed back at him solemnly.

"Yes, it is," Caterwaul affirmed quietly, lowering her head.

"Well, why is it here?" Breakdown asked, "I know what you said earlier, when you got hurt, and we were with the Autobots, about which side you were on. But, Caterwaul, you're a Decepticon!"

"Yes," the Decepti-cat answered, subdued, "I know that I am a Decepticon. But the Autobots are not my enemies."

Her friend sighed, "I can understand how you'd feel like that after they saved you, but... I mean, hat doesn't... Well, anyway, what's that insignia doing here?" "It's... a gift," Caterwaul admitted, "From the Autobots."

"For giving them back that little human?" Breakdown asked bluntly, and Caterwaul looked up in surprise. "How'd you know that?" she asked.

Breakdown snorted, "I'm missing an optic, not part of my processor; I could tell you were friends with the human, and you wouldn't kill her. Even if you were going to, you'd have been more thorough, biting off her head or something.

Plus there's the fact that I _saw_ you during that last battle. You never eat that much metal, you didn't speak, and then I saw the human during the battle. And right after, you were so relieved."

Caterwaul looked down at the floor, her fury ears pointing backwards as she hunched her shoulders and curled up her tail.

"So...?" Breakdown demanded, "Are you on our side or theirs?" Caterwaul shook her head in frustration and groaned, "Can't we just drop the subject?"

"NO," Breakdown stated firmly. Caterwaul moaned slightly, then sighed. "Ok," she muttered, "I'm mostly on the Autobots' side, even though I'm a Decepticon. I always have been a Decepticon and I always will be."

Breakdown shook his head and heaved a long sigh. Then he looked back at the femme sadly.

"Who are you?" he asked, almost pleadingly, his face sorrowful.

Caterwaul smiled at him sadly. "I'm Caterwaul," she answered jokingly. But Breakdown didn't smile. "No, Caterwaul," he told her, "I know _that_. But... who _are_ you? _Really_, I mean?"

Caterwaul's golden optics looked dejectedly up at the larger Decepticon. This sort of thing had happened occasionally during her many missions.

Sometimes she managed to evade the suspicions. Other times she had to resort to knocking the person unconscious and handing them over to the Autobots before they could tell anyone else.

Neither of these were going to happen. Instead, Caterwaul told the truth.

"I'm... part of a group of Cybertronians," she whispered, "Mostly femmes. Some mechs. Autobots and Decepticons and neutrals with a specific mission."

"What mission?" Breakdown questioned cautiously.

"Guilt. Vengeance," Caterwaul murmured, looking slightly bitter, "There's no official title for us, seeing as we try not to let anyone know who we are. But some call us 'vengeance-bringers.' We... find Cybertronians who have killed other Cybertronians. We tell them that what they did was wrong, and try to get them to feel bad about it. We want them to know that it's wrong to end a life."

The Decepti-cat smiled faintly, "Sometimes they don't even realize that they killed someone. Maybe an accident, from shooting at something and missing, maybe from causing a landslide, maybe from trying out an experimental weapon, anything. They feel guilty about it sometimes, which is good. It's good to _not_ want to kill a person, _any_ person."

Caterwaul's face darkened. "Some," she growled, "Some killers are like Arachnid. Or Starscream. They kill on purpose. They gloat about it. Sickening. So we, vengeance-bringers, we try to make them suffer for what they've done. We try."

"How..." Breakdown questioned hesitatingly, "How do you... find out when a person is killed? How do you find their killer?"

The feline winced, "We're connected to a sort of... a kind of system. Like the humans' internet, but it's a function that we add to our processors. When a spark goes offline, we sense it, like getting a comlink-message, one we see. And when we can, we can check the 'message' for who it was that died, and who killed them."

She shook her head mournfully, "It shows the dead Cybertronian's last moments, through their optics, backtracks to find the cause, the killer. The three closest vengeance-bringers are then aware how far away the killer is, and the very closest one usually goes after the killer. If they don't make it, one of the other two goes and another is alerted."

The Decepti-cat hunched her shoulders and squeezed her optics shut. "We do not kill. We do _not_ make _exceptions_," she continued firmly, gritting her teeth, "_Those_ are the laws we must follow. I've hurt Starscream. And Arachnid, who's encountered many vengeance-bringers. But I... I didn't confront... It's my fault I didn't..."

The feline broke off, making a choking sound. She twisted her head side to side and dug her claws into the floor. "Mmnuh," she grunted, hissing, "Why am I so weak?! I didn't even _say_ anything those 'Bots... Skyqu- I'm sorry, S-Sk..."

Breakdown's optic widened. "Skyquake," he breathed, "Skyquake was killed by Optimus and Bumblebee."

"I knooww!" Caterwaul keened, pressing her paws to her head and shuddering. "But I didn't do anything to them! I could've, when I first came to this planet! And I could've when I was healing at their base. But I didn't! I thought, 'Oh, it's Optimus Prime himself; I can't just yell at him or his teammate, or hurt them or something!' I didn't even have the courage to tell them that I _knew_ about Skyquake!"

"I was too much of a coward, scared of the 'famous Autobot leader'," Caterwaul snarled sarcastically, "so I did _nothing_! Because I was impressed by Optimus's _fame_. Because the Autobots _helped_ me. I could've at least _said_ something. But I didn't."

"I've... done it before," Caterwaul added unhappily, "To Autobots who've killed. Told them that it was wrong. No exceptions. No exceptions for the Autobots I trust or the Decepticons who I join the teams of. I've helped bring down 'Con teams, and then they're imprisoned. Part of my mission."

Breakdown looked sickened.

"Some eventually join the Autobots. Nearly all vengeance-bringers have to help defeat other 'Cons, since they usually kill more than the Autobots do. But I still hate myself for betraying them, when I was never really on their side. And I don't blame them for hating me. I don't think I can do it anymore."

Breakdown stared at Caterwaul, appalled by what she had said about her 'mission': turning in Decepticons who she'd joined. Betraying them.

"Did you join us –the Decepicons here on Earth- just to, just to _betray us_ to the Autobots?" he demanded, hurt.

Caterwaul nodded tightly. "Yes," she whispered, just as ashamed as she always was when thinking of this part of her 'mission,' "I joined the vengeance-bringers as everyone was leaving Cybertron. I wanted to do some good. I didn't realize how much it would hurt.

But I'm so tired of it all. I wanted to stay. Just to stay and try to prevent any more deaths here, just be part of the team here... I felt more like I belonged... I didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. Except Screamer and the Lousy Bug of course."

"A...Anyway," she mumbled, trying to smile, wishing that she could lighten the horrible, tense mood, "You sure are observant, finding that insignia."

"Observant for a 'Con with only one optic," Breakdown retorted, glaring at her. Did she think he'd just forget all that she'd said?!

"Observant by any standard," Caterwaul insisted, "Having one optic doesn't make you inferior."

Breakdown sneered, "Oh, great. How _nice_ of you, traitor. Now you sound like such a noble Autobot."

"Is that such a _bad_ thing, being like an Autobot?" Caterwaul asked pleadingly, "Would you prefer if I was, if I was like _Megatron_?! Cruel? Arrogant? Uncaring? Want me to be how 'Cons are _supposed_ to be? Blindly following orders, no sympathy for anyone, bloodthirsty, always hating and killing?"

Breakdown lowered his head and looked away. "I'm sorry," Caterwaul entreated, "But I'm not like that. I can't be, and I don't want to."

"You... aren't like that," Breakdown told her reluctantly. "Neither are you," she whispered back, her optics sad and imploring.

"I personally know so many Decepticons who are like that, and I don't trust them, or like them," Caterwaul murmured, "I trust the Autobots. I barely know any of them, but I trust them completely, even though I don't know them or belong with them."

Breakdown paused for a second, then asked curiously, "Aren't there any persons you know _and_ trust?" He felt a twinge of pity flicker in his spark. And an indistinct glimmer of something else.

"...Any persons who you know and like?" he added hesitantly, not making any optic contact with the femme.

Caterwaul looked surprised, and felt her spark flicker briefly.

... "No, not persons," she admitted slowly, "Just... one person."

"Who?" the Decepticon asked, hoping and dreading the answer.

Caterwaul's optics flicked away, to the floor, to a wall. Then they steadied as she turned her golden gaze to Breakdown.

"I truly know... and trust... and care... for one person," Caterwaul promised her friend, "You."

**:3 Heehee! Didja liiiiike it? The sequel, when I can start typing it up, will be called "Shattered Sanity," with a new human character I made up.**


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